Mercury accumulation potential of aquatic plant species in West Dongting Lake, China. (1st May 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peng, Dong; Chen, Mingzhu; Su, Xinyue; Liu, Chenchen; Zhang, Zhehao; Middleton, Beth A.; Lei, Ting
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 324(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-05-01
• Subjects: Mercury -- Floodplain -- West Dongting lake -- Translocation factor -- Hyperaccumulator plant; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121313
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: West Dongting Lake is a protected wetland with the potential for high levels of mercury release via wastewater and deposition from industry and agriculture during the last decade. To find out the ability of various plant species to accumulate mercury pollutants from soil and water, nine sites were studied in the downstream direction of the flow of the Yuan and Li Rivers, which are tributaries of the Yellow River flowing into West Dongting Lake, where mercury levels arere high in soil and plant tissues. The total mercury (THg) concentration in wetland soil was 0.078–1.659 mg/kg, which varied along the gradient of water flow along the river. According to canonical correspondence analysis and correlation analysis, there was a positive correlation between the soil THg concentration and the soil moisture in West Dongting Lake. There is high heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of soil THg concentration in West Dongting Lake, which may be related to the spatial heterogeneity of the soil moisture. Some plant species had higher THg concentrations in aboveground tissues (translocation factor >1), but none of these plant species fit the criteria as hyperaccumulators of mercury. And some species of the same ecological type (e.g., emergent, submergent, floating-leaved) exhibited very different strategies for mercury uptake. The concentrations of mercury in these species were lower than in other studies but these had relatively higher translocation factors. To phytoremediate soil mercury in West Dongting Lake, the regular harvest of plants could help remove mercury from soil and plant tissue. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: High concentration of the total mercury was found in the soil and plant tissues. Mercury concentration in water is not detectable (detection limitation = 0.04 ng/ml) in West Dongting Lake. There is no hyperaccumulator plant of mercury in West Dongting Lake. Carex brevicuspis and Carex heterostachya have the potential to remove mercury from the sediment.