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Mercury in rice soils developed on Saga polder lands, Northern Kyushu, Japan

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Summary

Rice soils with different cropping age ranging from 0 to 600 years on Saga polder lands have been sampled and the total mercury has been determined with a high sensitivity mercury analyzer. Organomercurial application had the effect of raising soil mercury levels above the natural background. The mercury was generally confined to the surface soils where the content varied from 333 ppb to 86 ppb with an average of 214 ppb. The mercury content diminished quickly with depth, whereas the trend was less marked with decreasing cropping age (the younger soils). The natural background level of the soils in this area is approximately 79 ppb. Industrial and sewage outfalls from another area may be a significant factor with regard to the establishment of an elevated mercury level in the sediments available as a foundation material for future poldering works.

Plant analysis indicates that the rice takes up small amounts of mercury regardless of the concentration in the soil. The average mercury content of unhulled rice was 11 ppb and of straw 31 ppb, suggestive of its minor role in the food chain. Calculation showed that crop removal is a fruitless source of the mercury decline in the soil.

The discussion of mercury behavior in soil including the fate of applied PMA suggests that mercuric sulfide formation is probably more important than other factors in regulating mercury retention in rice soils. re]19751027

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Soils and Plant Nutrition, Kyushu Agricultural Experiment Station, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 833, Chikugo, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

    Shigeyoshi Gotoh & Hiroshi Koga

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  1. Shigeyoshi Gotoh
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  2. Hiroshi Koga
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Gotoh, S., Koga, H. Mercury in rice soils developed on Saga polder lands, Northern Kyushu, Japan. Plant Soil 47, 49–61 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010367

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