Study of Chemical and Biological Indicators of Saline Pollution of the Coastal Lake Sidi Boughaba (Kenitra, Morocco)

Abstract

For around fifty years, the regression and degradation of wetlands were considered so worrying that they were the subject of an international Convention signed on 2 February 1971, in Iran (RAMSAR). This treaty aims to conserve wetlands meeting criteria of international importance through the notion of rational use of these spaces and their biodiversity. The national and even international value of Lake Sidi Boughaba (Kenitra, Morocco) lies in its biodiversity which allowed its inclusion on the Ramsar list in 1980. This importance motivated us to begin an ecological assessment of the level of its pollution through spatiotemporal monitoring and analysis of physicochemical tracers  from surface waters at seven sampling stations between January and December 2023. The waters of Lake Sidi Boughaba are relatively basic (pH=8.63), cold (15.14°C), very hard (64 meq/L), quite turbid (7.65 NTU), very salty (1935.85 µs/cm) and well saturated with Calcium ions = 312; Magnesium = 605; Chlorides = 5892; Sulfates = 944; Silicates =26 (mg/l). Other elements including nitrates (1.29 mg/l), ammonium (1.56 mg/l), fluorides (410 µg/l), iron (350 µg/l) and manganese (35 µg/l) are low. This study concludes that Lake Sidi Boughaba is classified in the category of oligomesotrophic lakes and that it is too threatened by the progressive transformation of its fresh water into brackish water and consequently the change in its benthic and planktonic fauna necessary for food of avian fauna. The study further concludes that this wetland is under significant threat, and to protect its biodiversity, innovative approaches to hydrological development are necessary.