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Changes of mercury and methylmercury content and mercury methylation in Suaeda salsa soil under different salinity

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Abstract

In this paper, we studied the changes of Hg and MeHg contents in Liaohe estuarine Suaeda salsa soils under anaerobic conditions by simulated indoor incubation at constant temperature and whether the changes of salinity (CK, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%) affected SRB and dominated the formation of MeHg. The lowest Hg content is found in the subsurface Suaeda salsa soils at 2.0% salinity. The MeHg content in the soil also showed a general trend of increasing and then decreasing with increasing flooding salinity, and the MeHg content was higher at 0.5–1.0% flooding salinity. SRB was present in the soil under all salinity conditions and reached the maximum value at 15 days of incubation. The SRB content was higher under CK, S1 and S2 conditions, and the soil MeHg content showed a significant positive correlation with the number of SRB bacteria, indicating that the formation of MeHg was related to SRB which is of great significance to the study of estuarine wetlands.

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The data and materials involved in this article all come from the results of the project team's own measurement, except for the marked citations.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the support of the national natural science foundation (41571085) and Liaoning Provincial Science and Technology Department Guidance Program (2019JH8/10200024).

Funding

This project is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (41571085) and Liaoning Provincial Science and Technology Department Guidance Program, 2019-ZD-0555.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental College, Shenyang University, Shenyang, 110044, China

    Zheng Dongmei, Li Xinyu, Li Hang, Wang Yuqi, Zheng Meijie & Xu Xiaoxiao

  2. Key Laboratory of Eco-Restoration of Regional Contaminated Environment, Shenyang University, Ministry of Education, Shenyang, 110044, China

    Zheng Dongmei, Li Xinyu, Li Hang, Wang Yuqi, Zheng Meijie & Xu Xiaoxiao

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  1. Zheng Dongmei
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  2. Li Xinyu
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Correspondence to Zheng Dongmei.

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Dongmei, Z., Xinyu, L., Hang, L. et al. Changes of mercury and methylmercury content and mercury methylation in Suaeda salsa soil under different salinity. Environ Geochem Health 44, 1399–1407 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-01094-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-01094-8

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