Dry deposition of gaseous elemental mercury to plants and soils using mercury stable isotopes in a controlled environment

Rutter, Andrew P.; Schauer, James J.; Shafer, Martin M.; Creswell, Joel E.; Olson, Michael R.; Robinson, Michael; Collins, Ryan M.; Parman, A.; Katzman, T. L.; Mallek, Justin

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.11.025

Cited by 68 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Louis et al, 2001). Laboratory studies confirm that the main source of Hg in aboveground biomass is from atmospheric uptake (Ericksen et al, 2003;Frescholtz et al, 2003;Millhollen et al, 2006a, b;Rutter et al, 2011). Field studies show uptake of atmospheric gaseous Hg during peak vegetation periods, particularly when leaf areas are at maximum expansion (Obrist et al, 2006;Fritsche et al, 2008b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…Field studies show uptake of atmospheric gaseous Hg during peak vegetation periods, particularly when leaf areas are at maximum expansion (Obrist et al, 2006;Fritsche et al, 2008b). Uptake of Hg by vegetation may occur both through stomatal processes (Ericksen et al, 2003;Stamenkovic and Gustin, 2009;Rutter et al, 2011) and non-stomatal sorption to plant surfaces (Rea et al, 2000;Stamenkovic and Gustin, 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fate of mercury in tree litter during decomposition

Pokharel

Obrist

2011

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. We performed a controlled laboratory litter incubation study to assess changes in dry mass, carbon (C) mass and concentration, mercury (Hg) mass and concentration, and stoichiometric relations between elements during decomposition. Twenty-five surface litter samples each, collected from four forest stands, were placed in incubation jars open to the atmosphere, and were harvested sequentially at 0, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. Using a mass balance approach, we observed significant mass losses of Hg during decomposition (5 to 23 % of initial mass after 18 months), which we attribute to gaseous losses of Hg to the atmosphere through a gas-permeable filter covering incubation jars. Percentage mass losses of Hg generally were less than observed dry mass and C mass losses (48 to 63 % Hg loss per unit dry mass loss), although one litter type showed similar losses. A field control study using the same litter types exposed at the original collection locations for one year showed that field litter samples were enriched in Hg concentrations by 8 to 64 % compared to samples incubated for the same time period in the laboratory, indicating strong additional sorption of Hg in the field likely from atmospheric deposition. Solubility of Hg, assessed by exposure of litter to water upon harvest, was very low (<0.22 ng Hg g −1 dry mass) and decreased with increasing stage of decomposition for all litter types. Our results indicate potentially large gaseous emissions, or re-emissions, of Hg originally associated with plant litter upon decomposition. Results also suggest that Hg accumulation in litter and surface layers in the field is driven mainly by additional sorption of Hg, with minor contributions from "internal" accumulation due to preferential loss of C over Hg. Litter types showed highly species-specific differences in Hg levels during decomposition suggesting that emissions, retention, and sorption of Hg are dependent on litter type.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fate of mercury in tree litter during decomposition

Pokharel

Obrist

2011

Biogeosciences

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“…However, more recent measurements suggested that air-surface exchange of Hg 0 is largely bidirectional between air and plant and that growing plants act as a net sink (Ericksen et al, 2003;Stamenkovic et al, 2008;Hartman et al, 2009). Stable Hg isotope tracer studies have shown that Hg in soils cannot be translocated from roots to leaf due to the transport barrier at the root zone (Rutter et al, 2011b;Cui et al, 2014), suggesting that the source of Hg in the leaf is of atmospheric origin.…”

Section: Air-vegetation Hg 0 Exchangementioning

confidence: 99%

Global observations and modeling of atmosphere–surface exchange of elemental mercury: a critical review

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Reliable quantification of air-surface fluxes of elemental Hg vapor (Hg 0 ) is crucial for understanding mercury (Hg) global biogeochemical cycles. There have been extensive measurements and modeling efforts devoted to estimating the exchange fluxes between the atmosphere and various surfaces (e.g., soil, canopies, water, snow, etc.) in the past three decades. However, large uncertainties remain due to the complexity of Hg 0 bidirectional exchange, limitations of flux quantification techniques and challenges in model parameterization. In this study, we provide a critical review on the state of science in the atmosphere-surface exchange of Hg 0 . Specifically, the advancement of flux quantification techniques, mechanisms in driving the air-surface Hg exchange and modeling efforts are presented. Due to the semi-volatile nature of Hg 0 and redox transformation of Hg in environmental media, Hg deposition and evasion are influenced by multiple environmental variables including seasonality, vegetative coverage and its life cycle, temperature, light, moisture, atmospheric turbulence and the presence of reactants (e.g., O 3 , radicals, etc.). However, the effects of these processes on flux have not been fundamentally and quantitatively determined, which limits the accuracy of flux modeling.We compile an up-to-date global observational flux database and discuss the implication of flux data on the global Hg budget. Mean Hg 0 fluxes obtained by micrometeorological measurements do not appear to be significantly greater than the fluxes measured by dynamic flux chamber methods over unpolluted surfaces (p = 0.16, one-tailed, Mann-Whitney U test). The spatiotemporal coverage of existing Hg 0 flux measurements is highly heterogeneous with large data gaps existing in multiple continents (Africa, South Asia, Middle East, South America and Australia). The magnitude of the evasion flux is strongly enhanced by human activities, particularly at contaminated sites. Hg 0 flux observations in East Asia are comparatively larger in magnitude than the rest of the world, suggesting substantial re-emission of previously deposited mercury from anthropogenic sources. The Hg 0 exchange over pristine surfaces (e.g., background soil and water) and vegetation needs better constraints for global analyses of the atmospheric Hg budget. The existing knowledge gap and the associated research needs for future measurements and modeling efforts for the air-surface exchange of Hg 0 are discussed.

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“…In order to evaluate the deposition rate of pollutants, the leaf area was determined in function of the leaf weight for three leaf samples. The calculated area/weight ratio ranges from 5.5 to 3.9 m 2 kg −1 (Rutter et al 2011). …”

Section: Lab Determinationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy metal accumulation in vegetables grown in urban gardens

Antisari¹,

Orsini²,

Marchetti³

et al. 2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

136

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Urban agriculture is increasingly popular for social and economical benefits. However, edible crops grown in cities can be contaminated by airborne pollutants, thus leading to serious health risks. Therefore, we need a better understanding of contamination risks of urban cultivation to define safe practices. Here we study heavy metal risk in horticultural crops grown in urban gardens of Bologna, Italy. We investigated the effect of proximity to different pollution sources such as roads and railways, and the effect of the growing system used, that is soil versus soilless cultivation. We compared heavy metal concentration in urban and rural crops. We focused on surface deposition and tissue accumulation of pollutants during 3 years. Results show that in the city, crops near the road were polluted by heavy metals, with up to 160 mg per kilogram of dry weight for lettuce and 210 mg/kg for basil. The highest Cd accumulation of up to 1.2 mg/kg was found in rural tomato. Soilless planting systems enabled a reduction of heavy metal accumulation in plant tissue, of up to −71 % for rosemary leaves.

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Dry deposition of gaseous elemental mercury to plants and soils using mercury stable isotopes in a controlled environment

Cited by 68 publications

References 34 publications

Fate of mercury in tree litter during decomposition

Fate of mercury in tree litter during decomposition

Global observations and modeling of atmosphere–surface exchange of elemental mercury: a critical review

Heavy metal accumulation in vegetables grown in urban gardens

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