Abstract
This pilot study assessed elemental distribution of lead shot in a tidal marsh that has been used heavily for hunting for generations by First Nation Cree of the western James Bay region of northern Ontario, Canada. Soil and vegetation (live shoots and rhizomes separately) were sampled at 25 plots along a 480-m transect. Metal content of lead shot affected soils was at background levels compared to soils of rural Ontario with Pb 7.4±0.9 μg/g; As 3.7±0.6 μg/g; Sb <0.05 μg/kg; Cd 0.04±0.03 μg/g; Cr 37.1±2.0 μg/g; Cu 9.3±2.6 μg/g; and Mn 351±16 μg/g. A direct correlation between soil Pb and plant biomass was not evident, and Pb contents of shoots (3.1±0.8 μg/g) and rhizomes (2.8±0.6 μg/g) were at background levels, suggesting minimal uptake of Pb from the soil. The results suggest that Pb pellets were relatively inert in the alkaline soil of the western James Bay region (mean pH=7.7, range 7.4 to 7.9), being of limited consequence when considering environmental contamination.
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Tsuji, L.J.S., Karagatzides, J.D. Spent lead shot in the western James Bay region of northern Ontario, Canada: Soil and plant chemistry of a heavily hunted wetland. Wetlands 18, 266–271 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03161662
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03161662