Comparison of elemental contents in earthworm cast and soil from a mercury-contaminated site (Idrija area, Slovenia)

Teršič, Tamara; Gosar, Mateja

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.04.062

Cited by 30 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Frederickson et al [31] and Singh et al [32] reported that soils treated with vermicompost had significantly higher contents of TN, extractable phosphorous, and organic carbon when compared with soils treated by traditional compost. Furthermore, the castings egested by earthworms contain a variety of nutrients, such as hormones, enzymes, microorganisms, and inorganic and organic materials from the earthworm gut [33]. The E treatment most greatly improved the soil chemical nutrient properties in our experiment, this result could also be explained by the data of papaya plant growth and yield for all the treatments.…”

Section: Soil Chemical Propertiessupporting

confidence: 57%

In Situ Earthworm Breeding to Improve Soil Aggregation, Chemical Properties, and Enzyme Activity in Papayas

et al. 2018

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The long-term use of mineral fertilizers has decreased the soil fertility in papaya (Carica papaya L.) orchards in South China. In situ earthworm breeding is a new sustainable practice for improving soil fertility. A field experiment was conducted to compare the effects of four treatments consisting of the control (C), chemical fertilizer (F), compost (O), and in situ earthworm breeding (E) on soil physico-chemical properties and soil enzyme activity in a papaya orchard. The results showed that soil chemical properties, such as pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), available nitrogen (AN), and total phosphorus (TP) were significantly improved with the E treatment but declined with the F treatment. On 31 October 2008, the SOM and TN with the O and E treatments were increased by 26.3% and 15.1%, respectively, and by 32.5% and 20.6% compared with the F treatment. Furthermore, the O and E treatments significantly increased the activity of soil urease and sucrase. Over the whole growing season, soil urease activity was 34.4%~40.4% and 51.1%~58.7% higher with the O and E treatments, respectively, than that with the C treatment. Additionally, the activity of soil sucrase with the E treatment was always the greatest of the four treatments, whereas the F treatment decreased soil catalase activity. On 11 June 2008 and 3 July 2008, the activity of soil catalase with the F treatment was decreased by 19.4% and 32.0% compared with C. Soil bulk density with the four treatments was in the order of O ≤ E < F < C. The O-and E-treated soil bulk density was significantly lower than that of the F-treated soil. Soil porosity was in the order of C < F < E < O. Soil porosity with the O and E treatments was 6.0% and 4.7% higher, respectively, than that with the F treatment. Meanwhile, the chemical fertilizer applications significantly influenced the mean weight diameter (MWD) of the aggregate and proportion of different size aggregate fractions. The E treatment significantly increased the MWD, but the F treatment decreased it. The MWD with the E treatment was 14.5% higher than that with the F treatment. The proportion of >2 mm size aggregates in the O and E treatments was vastly improved. In conclusion, in situ earthworm breeding in orchards performed better than traditional compost and chemical fertilizer in improving soil aggregation, chemical properties, and enzyme activity. This is a new, organic fertilizer application for improving soil structure, chemical properties, and soil enzymes due to the activities of the earthworms and the production of vermicomposting.

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Section: Soil Chemical Propertiessupporting

confidence: 57%

In Situ Earthworm Breeding to Improve Soil Aggregation, Chemical Properties, and Enzyme Activity in Papayas

et al. 2018

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“…Earthworms are considered useful bio-indicators for assessing soil health and quality in numerous studies of contaminated sites and in laboratory experiments (Nannoni et al, 2011;Teršič and Gosar, 2012). They spend most of their life in soil and play an important role in soil structure maintenance; approximately 80% of soil fauna biomass is constituted by earthworms in terrestrial ecosystems (Buch et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of mercury and methylmercury bioaccumulation in earthworms (<i>Bimastus parvus</i>) native to landfill-leachate-contaminated forest soil

Arizono

Ji³

et al. 2018

J. Toxicol. Sci.

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Total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation was explored in the Bimastus parvus species of earthworm (B. parvus) native to the leachate-contaminated forest soils around a Hg-polluted traditional landfill in Japan. General soil properties and concentrations of THg and MeHg in forest soils and in B. parvus were determined. The results indicated that the average THg concentrations in B. parvus and in forest soils in the leachate-contaminated sites were 10.21 and 14.90 times higher than those in the reference sites, respectively, whereas similar average MeHg concentrations were observed in forest soils (< 0.01 mg kg) and in B. parvus (0.100-0.114 mg kg) across all sampled sites. The average bioaccumulation factors of THg in B. parvus (BAF) in forest soil were similar between the leachate-contaminated sites and the reference sites. Cluster and regression analyses demonstrated that the B. parvus Hg (THg and MeHg) and soil THg were positively correlated with each other and with soil organic matter (SOM) and clays, but were negatively correlated with sand and hardly correlated with silts and pH in leachate-contaminated forest soils. From these results, it was proposed that Hg exposure to food chains is possible through B. parvus, because B. parvus showed a high ability to accumulate THg and MeHg in both leachate-contaminated and reference forest soils. Together, these findings indicated that the role of B. parvus in MeHg production is not clear, and it is possible that the MeHg in B. parvus was firstly formed within forest soils and then accumulated in their tissues.

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“…In the town of Idrija (Figure ), mercury ore was mined and processed for five centuries until 1995. These activities caused an unprecedented legacy of mercury contamination in the wider Idrija area (Teršič & Gosar, ; Gosar et al, ; Table ). Sediments of the rivers Idrijca and Soča/Isonzo, which drain the contaminated area, are enriched with mercury, and they transport large amounts of Hg‐loaded material towards the Gulf of Trieste in the northern Adriatic Sea.…”

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the town of Idrija (Figure 1), mercury ore was mined and processed for five centuries until 1995. These activities caused an unprecedented legacy of mercury contamination in the wider Idrija area (Teršič & Gosar, 2012;Gosar et al, 2016; (Covelli, Petranich, Langone, Emili, & Acquavita, 2017;Kotnik et al, 2015).…”

Section: Idrija Hg Minementioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of mining and smelting activities on environment and landscape degradation—Slovenian case studies

et al. 2018

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This paper provides an overview of the physical and chemical landscape changes that have occurred at four reference sites due to historical mining and smelting activities within Slovenia, and their comparison with similar sites around the World. Literature review has been made with the intention to identify major pollutant sources, its dispersion control factors, and effects. The four reference sites are Idrija, with more than 500‐year Hg mining and ore smelting history, the Meža Valley, also with a 500‐year PbZn mining and smelting history, the Celje area where Zn was smelted for 100 years and the Drava River alluvial plain, which is contaminated because of historical PbZn mining upstream. Based on the comparison between the four abovementioned reference sites and similar sites around the world that are situated in different landscapes and climates, we identified major sources of contamination, which are the erosion of mine and ore processing wastes, and atmospheric emissions of metal‐containing particles from smelters. In the first case, major control factors are rainfall pattern and river gradient, controlling erosion and sediment deposition patterns. In the second case, the prevailing control factors are topography and the dominant wind directions.

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Comparison of elemental contents in earthworm cast and soil from a mercury-contaminated site (Idrija area, Slovenia)

Cited by 30 publications

References 27 publications

In Situ Earthworm Breeding to Improve Soil Aggregation, Chemical Properties, and Enzyme Activity in Papayas

In Situ Earthworm Breeding to Improve Soil Aggregation, Chemical Properties, and Enzyme Activity in Papayas

Comparison of mercury and methylmercury bioaccumulation in earthworms (<i>Bimastus parvus</i>) native to landfill-leachate-contaminated forest soil

Impacts of mining and smelting activities on environment and landscape degradation—Slovenian case studies

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