SummaryCadmium (Cd) is an important environmental pollutant and is poisonous to most organisms. We aimed to unravel the mechanisms of Cd toxicity in the model water plant Ceratophyllum demersum exposed to low (nM) concentrations of Cd as are present in nature.Experiments were conducted under environmentally relevant conditions, including naturelike light and temperature cycles, and a low biomass to water ratio. We measured chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence kinetics, oxygen exchange, the concentrations of reactive oxygen species and pigments, metal binding to proteins, and the accumulation of starch and metals.The inhibition threshold concentration for most parameters was 20 nM. Below this concentration, hardly any stress symptoms were observed. The first site of inhibition was photosynthetic light reactions (the maximal quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII) reaction centre measured as F v /F m , light-acclimated PSII activity Φ PSII , and total Chl). Trimers of the PSII lightharvesting complexes (LHCIIs) decreased more than LHC monomers and detection of Cd in the monomers suggested replacement of magnesium (Mg) by Cd in the Chl molecules. As a consequence of dysfunctional photosynthesis and energy dissipation, reactive oxygen species (superoxide and hydrogen peroxide) appeared.Cadmium had negative effects on macrophytes at much lower concentrations than reported previously, emphasizing the importance of studies applying environmentally relevant conditions. A chain of inhibition events could be established.
We propose the tree rings of European Larch ( Larix decidua) as a widely available and reliable geochemical archive of local and regional changes in atmospheric mercury (Hg). Mean Hg concentrations in larch tree rings from 8 background sites across the Czech Republic ranged from 2.2 to 4.8 μg kg; the maximum concentrations occurred in the period 1951-1970. At 3 sites impacted by Hg-emission sources [gold amalgamation processing, caustic soda production, and lead (Pb) ore smelting] mean larch tree ring Hg concentrations were significantly elevated relative to background sites. Changes in larch tree ring Hg concentrations were temporally coherent with known activities at the sites that would alter Hg emissions; the nearly simultaneous response in tree rings indicated little or no translocation of Hg within the larch bole. Based on the present-day atmospheric Hg concentration of 1.63 ng m at the intensively monitored Czech Global Mercury Observation System site and the most recent mean tree ring Hg concentration of 2.8 μg kg in co-located larch trees, we developed a simple distribution model of Hg between the atmosphere and larch tree rings. We applied the model using observed changes of Hg in larch tree rings from the countrywide background sites to reconstruct past atmospheric Hg concentrations in central Europe. Modeled Hg concentrations were in agreement with annual means from the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme observatories.
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