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Characterization and speciation of mercury in mosses and lichens from the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

The accumulation and species of mercury (Hg) in mosses and lichens collected from high-altitude Tibetan Plateau were studied. The altitudes of the sampling sites spanned from 1983 to 5147 m, and a total of 130 mosses and 52 lichens were analyzed. The total mercury (THg) contents in mosses and lichens were in the ranges of 13.1–273.0 and 20.2–345.9 ng/g, respectively. The average ratios of methylmercury (MeHg) in THg in mosses and lichens were 2.4 % (0.3–11.1 %) and 2.7 % (0.4–9.6 %), respectively, which were higher than those values reported in other regions. The contents of THg in both mosses and lichens were not correlated with the THg in soils (p > 0.05). The lipid contents displayed a significantly positive correlation with concentrations of MeHg in mosses (r = 0.461, p < 0.01, n = 90), but not in lichens. The correlations between Hg contents in mosses and the altitudes, latitudes and longitudes of sampling sites indicated the mountain trapping and spatial deposition of Hg in the Tibetan Plateau.

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Acknowledgments

The work described here was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB430004), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41422306 and 21120102040) and the Young Scientists Fund of RCEES (RCEES-QN-20130007F).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Jun-juan Shao, Cheng-bin Liu, Qing-hua Zhang, Jian-jie Fu, Rui-qiang Yang, Jian-bo Shi, Yong Cai & Gui-bin Jiang

  2. Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430056, China

    Jian-bo Shi & Yong Cai

  3. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jun-juan Shao, Cheng-bin Liu & Gui-bin Jiang

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  1. Jun-juan Shao
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Correspondence to Jian-bo Shi.

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Shao, Jj., Liu, Cb., Zhang, Qh. et al. Characterization and speciation of mercury in mosses and lichens from the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau. Environ Geochem Health 39, 475–482 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-016-9828-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-016-9828-y

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