Topographical Influences on the Spatial Distribution of Soil Mercury at the Catchment Scale

Gunda, Thushara; Scanlon, Todd M.

doi:10.1007/s11270-013-1511-7

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Generally, THg concentrations in surface soils in the TNFP were comparable to mercury levels from other forest soils in China (Lin et al, 2012;Fu et al, 2010a;Liu et al, 2003). But THg concentrations in the soils of our study area were slight lower than THg levels from some remote areas of Eastern Europe which were generally more than 200 ng g À1 for organic layers, primarily due to much higher atmospheric deposition to the forest (Szopka et al, 2011;Gunda and Scanlon, 2013;Navr atil et al, 2014). However, THg concentrations in surface soils and litter in the study area were much higher (1.5e2.0 folders higher) than those observed in mountain areas of North America and northeastern China, which were generally less than 150 ng g À1 for surface soils and 100 ng g À1 for litterfall (Larssen et al, 2008;Juillerat et al, 2012;Tabatchnick, 2012;Luo et al, 2014).…”

Section: Thg Concentrations In Litter and Soilssupporting

confidence: 57%

“…High values of standard deviation (SD) and variability coefficient proved a high diversity of THg concentrations, particularly in the organic soil layers. Higher THg concentrations in the organic layer compared to forest litter result partly from natural processes of litterfall decomposition and transformation, in which organic matter binding mercury compounds are usually more stabilized via complexing, humification and adsorption to clay minerals (Schlüter, 2000; Gunda and Scanlon, 2013). This result was consistent well with observations reported by other studies which stressed the affinity of atmospheric mercury to accumulate in the surface layers of soils Pena-Rodriguez et al, 2014).…”

Section: Thg Concentrations In Litter and Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Changes in soil pH alter not only the fractions of mercury in soil solution but can also change mercury speciation in soils (Gunda and Scanlon, 2013). Higher THg concentrations but lower pH observed in the organic layer compared with mineral topsoil layer, undoubtedly indicated the crucial role of pH in the accumulation of mercury in soils.…”

Section: Thg Concentrations In Litter and Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 illustrates the significantly negative relationships between THg and pH concentrations in both soil layers. As pH of the soil increases, more affinity of mercury binding groups in the organic matter is decreased, therefore more mercury is released from the soil (Gunda and Scanlon, 2013).…”

Section: Thg Concentrations In Litter and Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution and elevated soil pools of mercury in an acidic subtropical forest of southwestern China

Zhou

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2015

Environmental Pollution

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a b s t r a c tTieshanping catchment in southwest China was supposed to a large pool of atmospheric mercury. This work was aimed to examine THg (total mercury) concentrations, pools and influence factors in the acidic forest. THg concentrations were highly elevated in the study area, which was significantly depended on TOM (total organic matter) concentrations and altitudinal elevation, whereas negatively correlated with soil pH. The pools of mercury accumulated in soils were correlated strongly with the stocks of TOM and altitude, ranged from 5.9 to 32 mg m À2 and averaged 14.5 mg m À2, indicating that the acidic forest was a great sink of atmospheric mercury in southwest China. THg concentrations in stream waters decreased with altitude increasing and regression analyses showed that soil/air exchange flux would be increased with the decrease of altitude. Present results suggest that elevation increasing decreases THg losses as low THg concentrations in runoffs and volatilization from soils.

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Section: Thg Concentrations In Litter and Soilssupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Thg Concentrations In Litter and Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thg Concentrations In Litter and Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thg Concentrations In Litter and Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Distribution and elevated soil pools of mercury in an acidic subtropical forest of southwestern China

Zhou

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2015

Environmental Pollution

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“…The combination of strong precipitation gradients and increased THg concentration with SWE leads to large spatial variability in the total snowpack Hg pools in mountainous areas. A previous study noted relationships between soil Hg content and elevation (Gunda and Scanlon, 2013), possibly attributable to precipitation gradients, while another study found that soil Hg storage was positively correlated with total precipitation across multiple study sites but attributed these effects to ecological processes such as increased plant productivity and carbon accumulation (Obrist et al, 2009.…”

Section: Mercurymentioning

confidence: 96%

Nutrient and mercury deposition and storage in an alpine snowpack of the Sierra Nevada, USA

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Biweekly snowpack core samples were collected at seven sites along two elevation gradients in the Tahoe Basin during two consecutive snow years to evaluate total wintertime snowpack accumulation of nutrients and pollutants in a high-elevation watershed of the Sierra Nevada. Additional sampling of wet deposition and detailed snow pit profiles were conducted the following year to compare wet deposition to snowpack storage and assess the vertical dynamics of snowpack nitrogen, phosphorus, and mercury. Results show that, on average, organic N comprised 48 % of all snowpack N, while nitrate (NO − 3 -N) and TAN (total ammonia nitrogen) made up 25 and 27 %, respectively. Snowpack NO − 3 -N concentrations were relatively uniform across sampling sites over the sampling seasons and showed little difference between seasonal wet deposition and integrated snow pit concentrations. These patterns are in agreement with previous studies that identify wet deposition as the dominant source of wintertime NO − 3 -N deposition. However, vertical snow pit profiles showed highly variable concentrations of NO − 3 -N within the snowpack indicative of additional deposition and in-snowpack dynamics. Unlike NO − 3 -N, snowpack TAN doubled towards the end of winter, which we attribute to a strong dry deposition component which was particularly pronounced in late winter and spring. Organic N concentrations in the snowpack were highly variable (from 35 to 70 %) and showed no clear temporal, spatial, or vertical trends throughout the season. Integrated snowpack organic N concentrations were up to 2.5 times higher than seasonal wet deposition, likely due to microbial immobilization of inorganic N as evident by coinciding increases in organic N and decreases in inorganic N in deeper, aged snow. Spatial and temporal deposition patterns of snowpack P were consistent with particulate-bound dry deposition inputs and strong impacts from in-basin sources causing up to 6 times greater enrichment at urban locations compared to remote sites. Snowpack Hg showed little temporal variability and was dominated by particulate-bound forms (78 % on average). Dissolved Hg concentrations were consistently lower in snowpack than in wet deposition, which we attribute to photochemically driven gaseous re-emission. In agreement with this pattern is a significant positive relationship between snowpack Hg and elevation, attributed to a combination of increased snow accumulation at higher elevations causing limited light penetration and lower photochemical re-emission losses in deeper, higher-elevation snowpack. Finally, estimates of basin-wide loading based on spatially extrapolated concentrations and a satellite-based snow water equivalent reconstruction model identify snowpack chemical loading from atmospheric deposition as a substantial source of nutrients and pollutants to the Lake Tahoe Basin, accounting for 113 t of N, 9.3 t of P, and 1.2 kg of Hg each year.

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Mercury concentrations and pools in four adjacent coniferous and deciduous upland forests in Beijing, China

et al. 2017

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Understanding of forest mercury (Hg) pools is important for quantifying the global atmospheric Hg removal. We studied gaseous elemental Hg (GEM) concentrations, litterfall Hg depositions, and pool sizes in four adjacent stands at Mount Dongling to assess Hg dynamics in the forested catchment and the potential of Hg release during wildfires. The average GEM concentration was 2.5 ± 0.5 ng m−3, about 1.5 times of the background levels in the Northern Hemisphere. In all four stands, Hg concentrations increase in the following order: bole wood < branch/twig < bark < mineral soil < needles/leaves < litterfall < Oi litter < Oe soil < Oa organic soil. The Hg pools of aboveground biomass were comparable in the forests of larch, oak, and Chinese pine, which were much greater than that of mixed broadleaf stands due to lower biomass. The total Hg pools in ecosystems were similar in the four stands, because of the comparable Hg pool in the soil horizons (0–40 cm), which accounted for over 97% of the total ecosystem Hg storage in the four stands. Although Hg pools of the forest ecosystem in north China were comparable to North America and North Europe, Hg storage in forests constituted a high threat for large Hg emission pulses to the atmosphere by wildfires. The potential Hg emissions from the combustion at the four stands were ranged from 0.675 to 1.696 mg m−2.

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Topographical Influences on the Spatial Distribution of Soil Mercury at the Catchment Scale

Cited by 13 publications

References 69 publications

Distribution and elevated soil pools of mercury in an acidic subtropical forest of southwestern China

Distribution and elevated soil pools of mercury in an acidic subtropical forest of southwestern China

Nutrient and mercury deposition and storage in an alpine snowpack of the Sierra Nevada, USA

Mercury concentrations and pools in four adjacent coniferous and deciduous upland forests in Beijing, China

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