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Mercury Inhibits Soil Enzyme Activity in a Lower Concentration than the Guideline Value

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Abstract

Three soil types – neutral, alkaline and acidic were experimentally contaminated with nine different concentrations of inorganic mercury (0, 5, 10, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 mg/kg) to derive effective concentrations of mercury that exert toxicity on soil quality. Bioavailability of mercury in terms of water solubility was lower in acidic soil with higher organic carbon. Dehydrogenase enzyme activity and nitrification rate were chosen as indicators to assess soil quality. Inorganic mercury significantly inhibited (p < 0.001) microbial activities in the soils. The critical mercury contents (EC10) were found to be less than the available safe limits for inorganic mercury which demonstrated inadequacy of existing guideline values.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE) for funding the project in collaboration with Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia

    Khandaker Rayhan Mahbub, Mallavarapu Megharaj & Ravi Naidu

  2. Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia

    Khandaker Rayhan Mahbub, Kannan Krishnan, Mallavarapu Megharaj & Ravi Naidu

  3. Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, Level 1, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia

    Khandaker Rayhan Mahbub, Kannan Krishnan, Mallavarapu Megharaj & Ravi Naidu

Authors
  1. Khandaker Rayhan Mahbub
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  2. Kannan Krishnan
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  3. Mallavarapu Megharaj
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  4. Ravi Naidu
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Correspondence to Khandaker Rayhan Mahbub.

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Mahbub, K.R., Krishnan, K., Megharaj, M. et al. Mercury Inhibits Soil Enzyme Activity in a Lower Concentration than the Guideline Value. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 96, 76–82 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1664-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1664-8

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