The Mt. Amiata volcano is the youngest and largest volcanic edifice in Tuscany (central-northern Italy) and is characterized by a geothermal field, exploited for the production of electrical energy. In the past Mt. Amiata was also known as a world-class Hg district whose mining activity was mainly distributed in the central-eastern part of this silicic volcanic complex, and particularly in the municipality of Abbadia San Salvatore. In the present work we report a geochemical survey on Hg(0) measurements related to the former mercury mine facilities prior the reclamation project. The Hg(0) measurements were carried out by car for long distance regional surveys, and on foot for local scale surveys by using two LUMEX (915+ and M) devices. This study presents the very first Hg(0) data obtained with this analytical technique in the Mt. Amiata area. The facilities related to the mining areas and structures where cinnabar was converted to metallic Hg are characterized by high Hg values (>50,000ngm(-3)), although the urban center of Abbadia San Salvatore, few hundred meters away, does not appear to be receiving significant pollution from the calcine area and former industrial edifices, all the recorded values being below the values recommended by the issuing Tuscany Region authorities (300ngm(-3)) and in some cases approaching the Hg background levels (3-5ngm(-3)) for the Mt. Amiata area.

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Phragmites australis (Cav.) Steud. is one of the most dominant and common species in wetland ecosystems from temperate regions worldwide [1][2][3]. It is tolerant to a broad ecological range, colonizing different habitat types, such as riverbanks, ditches, littoral zones of lakes, fens, bogs and salt-marshes. This sub-cosmopolite species can grow in oligotrophic to eutrophic conditions, but it seems to be favoured in nutrient-rich sites [4]. The common reed can also withstand different pollutants, including heavy metals. For this reason, it is often used for the treatment of industrial or agricultural wastewaters [5-9], for phytoremediation [10-12] and even for the removal of harmful microorganisms due to its allelopathic effect [13].In some areas of the world this grass is regarded as an aggressive invasive species [14][15][16][17]. The phenomenon is prominent in the USA where the Eurasian subspecies P. australis subsp. australis outcompetes the native, recently described, P. australis subsp. americanus Saltonstall, P.M. Peterson & Soreng, displacing the authoctonous populations [18]. For this reason, in N-America and Canada P. australis subsp. australis was included among the highest priority invasive species [19][20][21][22][23][24]. On the other side, reed beds represent valuable ecosystems for biodiversity conservation, although they are both usually

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