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Tracing the Uptake, Transport, and Fate of Mercury in Sawgrass ( Cladium jamaicense) in the Florida Everglades Using a Multi-isotope Technique.
- Source :
-
Environmental science & technology [Environ Sci Technol] 2018 Mar 20; Vol. 52 (6), pp. 3384-3391. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Mar 07. - Publication Year :
- 2018
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Abstract
- The role of macrophytes in the biogeochemical cycle of mercury (Hg) in the Florida Everglades is poorly understood. Stable isotope tracer techniques were employed to investigate Hg uptake by sawgrass ( Cladium jamaicense) from soil and atmospheric pathways and the fate of Hg after absorption. Our results suggest that soil spiked <superscript>201</superscript> Hg <superscript>2+</superscript> was rapidly taken up by roots and transported to aboveground parts. The spiked <superscript>201</superscript> Hg that was transported to the aboveground parts was trapped; no release of the spiked <superscript>201</superscript> Hg from the leaf to the air was detected. Atmospheric <superscript>199</superscript> Hg <superscript>0</superscript> exposure experiments revealed that the majority of the previously deposited <superscript>199</superscript> Hg <superscript>0</superscript> taken into the leaf was fixed, with a very limited proportion (1.6%) available for re-emission to the atmosphere. The percentage of <superscript>199</superscript> Hg <superscript>0</superscript> fixed in the leaf will help reduce the model uncertainty in estimating the Hg <superscript>0</superscript> exchange over the air-vegetation surface. We propose that sawgrass needs to be viewed as an important sink for atmospheric Hg <superscript>0</superscript> in the regional Hg mass balance; this would have important implications for the critical loads of Hg to the Everglades. The multi-isotope tracer technique could be an effective tool to identify the role of plants in biogeochemical cycling of Hg in other ecosystems.
- Subjects :
- Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Florida
Isotopes
Cyperaceae
Mercury
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1520-5851
- Volume :
- 52
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Environmental science & technology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 29466662
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b04150