Abstract
Concentrations of mercury (Hg) in live foliage increased ten-fold from spring bud break (mean ± std. dev. from bothsites: 3.5±1.3 ng g-1) to autumn litterfall(36±8 ng g-1). Mercury in foliage did not behavesimilarly to eight other elements with known soil or aerosolsources (Aluminum (Al), Vanadium (V), Strontium (Sr), Rubidium(Rb), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Barium (Ba), and lead (Pb)),suggesting that Hg originated from a distinct pathway. Based onmeasured and modeled data, uptake of only 25% of the availableambient dry deposited Hg0 could explain all of the Hgmeasured in foliage throughout the growing season. Estimates ofgaseous elemental Hg (Hg0) uptake from soil water accountedfor 3–14%% of the Hg in litterfall. Mercury deposition toforested sites in the Lake Champlain and Lake Huron basins washighest in litterfall (40%), followed by total throughfall(33%), and precipitation (27%). The Hg flux in litterfall was15.8±1.9~μg m-2 yr-1 to the Lake ChamplainWatershed in 1995 and was 11.4±2.8~μg m-2 yr-1 to the Lake Huron Watershed in 1996. In comparison, the Hg fluxes in precipitation and total throughfall were 9.0±0.6 and 11.6±0.7~μg m-2 yr-1in the Lake Champlain Watershed (1995), and 8.7±0.5 and 10.5±1.0~μg m-2 yr-1 in the Lake Huron Watershed (1996).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barghigiani, C., Bargagli, R., Siegel, B. Z. and Siegel, S. M.: 1990, ‘A Comparative Study of Mercury Distribution on the Aeolian Volcanoes, Vulcano and Stromboli’, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 53, 179–188.
Beauford, W., Barber, J. and Barringer, A. R.: 1977, ‘Uptake and Distribution of Mercury Within Higher Plants’, Physiol. Plant. 39, 261–265.
Bishop, K. H., Lee, Y.-H., Munthe, J. and Dambrine E.: 1998, ‘Xylem Sap as a Pathway for Total Mercury and Methylmercury Transport from Soils to Tree Canopy in the Boreal Forest’, Biogeo. 40, 101–114.
Browne, C. L. and Fang, S. C.: 1978, ‘Uptake of Mercury Vapor by Wheat’, Plant Physiol. 61, 430–433.
Donlon, A.: 1999, ‘Transport of Mercury from Soils to Streams in Two Forested Catchments on Mt. Mansfield, VT’, M.S. Thesis, University of Vermont.
Fischer, R. G., Rapsomanikis, S. and Andreae, M. O.: 1995, ‘Bioaccumulation of Methylmercury and Transformation of Inorganic Mercury by Macrofungi’, Environ. Sci. Technol. 29, 993–999.
Godbold, D. L. and Huttermann, A.: 1988, ‘Inhibition of Photosynthesis and Transpiration in Relation to Mercury-Induced Root Damage in Spruce Seedlings’, Physiol. Plant. 74, 270–275.
Guha, M. M. and Mitchell, R. L.: 1966, ‘The Trace and Major Element Composition of the Leaves of Some Deciduous Trees’, Plant Soil 24, 90–112.
Hanson, P. J., Lindberg, S. E., Tabberer, T., Owens, J. G. and Kim, K.-H.: 1995, ‘Foliar Exchange of Mercury Vapor: Evidence for a Compensation Point’, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 80, 373–382.
Heinrichs, H. and Mayer, R.: 1980, ‘The Role of Forest Vegetation in the Biogeochemical Cycle of Heavy Metals’, J. Environ Qual. 9, 111–118.
Hicks, B. B., Baldocchi, D. D., Meyers, T. P., Hosker Jr., R. P. and Matt, D. R.: 1987, ‘A Preliminary Multiple Resistance Routine for Deriving Deposition Velocities from Measured Quantities’, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 36, 311–330.
Iverfeldt, A.: 1991, ‘Mercury in Forest Canopy Throughfall Water and its Relation to Atmospheric Deposition’, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 56, 553–564.
Keeler, G. J., Glinsorn, G. and Pirrone, N.: 1995, ‘Particulate Mercury in the Atmosphere: Its Significance, Transport, Transformation, and Sources’, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 80, 159–168.
Keeler, G. J. and Landis, M. S.: 1997, EPA 905-R-97-012a, 92.
Leon, E.: 1995, ‘Foliar Nitrogen Variability and Resorption During Autumn Leaf Senescence in Sugar Maple’, M.S. Thesis, University of Vermont.
Lindberg, S. E. and Stratton, W. J.: 1998, ‘Atmospheric Mercury Speciation: Concentrations and Behavior of Reactive Gaseous Mercury in Ambient Air’, Environ. Sci. Technol. 32, 49–57.
Lindberg, S. E., Hanson, P. J., Meyers, T. P. and Kim, K.-H.: 1998, ‘Air/surface Exchange of Mercury Vapor Over Forests - The Need for a Reassessment of Continental Biogenic Emissions’, Atmos. Environ. 32, 895–908.
Lindberg, S. E.: 1996, ‘Forests and the Global Biogeochemical Cycle of Mercury: The Importance of Understanding Air/Vegetation Exchange Processes’, in W. Baeyens, R. Ebinghaus and O. Vasiliev (eds.), Global and Regional Mercury Cycles: Sources, Fluxes, and Mass Balances, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp. 359–380.
Lindberg, S. E., Owens, J. G. and Stratton, W.: 1994, ‘Application of Throughfall Methods to Estimate Dry Deposition of Mercury’, in C. J. Watras, and J. W. Huckabee (eds.), Mercury Pollution: Integration and Synthesis, Lewis Publishers, Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A., pp. 261–271.
Lindberg, S. E., Meyers, T. P., Taylor, G. E., Turner, R. R. and Schroeder, W. H.: 1992, ‘Atmosphere-surface Exchange of Mercury in a Forest: Results of Modeling and Gradient Approaches’, J. Geophys. Res. 97, 2519–2528.
Lindberg, S. E. and Harriss, R. C.: 1981, ‘The Role of Atmospheric Deposition in an Eastern U.S. Deciduous Forest’, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 16, 13–31.
Lindberg, S. E., Jackson, D. R., Huckabee, J. W., Janzen, S. A., Levin, M. J. and Lund, J. R.: 1979, ‘Atmospheric Emission and Plant Uptake of Mercury from Agricultural Soils near the Almaden Mercury Mine’, J. Environ. Qual. 8, 572–578.
MacDonald, N. W., Burton, A. J., Liechty, H. O., Witter, J. A., Pregitzer, K. S., Mroz, G. D. and Richter, D. D.: 1992, ‘Ion Leaching in Forest Ecosystems Along a Great Lakes Air Pollution Gradient’, J. Environ. Qual. 21, 614–623.
Moore, T. R., Bubier, J. L., Heyes, A. and Flett, R. J.: 1995, ‘Methyl and Total Mercury in Boreal Wetland Plants, Experimental Lakes Area, Northwestern OntariO', J. Environ. Qual. 24, 845–850.
Mosbaek, H., Tjell, J. C. and Sevel, T.: 1988, ‘Plant Uptake of Airborne Mercury in Background Areas’, Chemosphere 17, 1227–1236.
Parker, G. R., McFee, W. W. and Kelly, J. M.: 1978, ‘Metal Distribution in Forested Ecosystems in Urban and Rural Northwestern Indiana’, J. Environ. Qual. 7, 337–342.
Rasmussen, P. E.: 1994, ‘Mercury in Vegetation of the Precambrian Shield’, in C. J. Watras and J. W. Huckabee (eds.), Mercury Pollution: Integration and Synthesis, Lewis Publishers, Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A., pp 417–425.
Rasmussen, P. E., Mierle, G. and Nriagu, J. O.: 1991, ‘The Analysis of Vegetation for Total Mercury’, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 56, 379–390.
Rea, A. W.: 1998, ‘The Processing of Mercury in Forested Ecosystems’, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Michigan.
Rea, A. W. and Keeler, G. J.: 1998, ‘Microwave Digestion and Analysis of Foliage for Total Mercury by Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy’, Biogeo. 40, 115–123.
Rea, A. W., Keeler, G. J. and Scherbatskoy, T.: 1996, ‘The Deposition of Mercury in Throughfall and Litterfall in the Lake Champlain Watershed: A Short-term Study’, Atmos. Environ. 30, 3257–3263.
Rea, A. W., Lindberg, S. E. and Keeler, G. J.: 2000, ‘Development of a Washing Technique for Measuring Dry Deposition of Mercury and Selected Trace Elements to Foliage and Surrogate Surfaces’, Environ. Sci. Technol. 34, 2418–2425.
Rea, A. W., Lindberg, S. E. and Keeler, G. J.: 2001, ‘Dry Deposition and Foliar Leaching of Mercury and Selected Trace Elements in Deciduous Forest Throughfall’, Atmos. Environ., in press.
Shaw, B. P. and Panigrahi, A. K.: 1986, ‘Uptake and Tissue Distribution of Mercury in Some Plant Species Collected from a Contaminated Area in India: Its Ecological Implications’, Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 15, 439–446.
Siegel, B. Z., Siegel, S. M. and Horsky, S. J.: 1984, ‘Equisetum Plants and the Cycling of Mercury at Mount St. Helens’, Environ. Sci. Technol. 18, 179–181.
Siegel, S. M., Puerner, N. J. and Speitel, T. W.: 1974, ‘Release of Volatile Mercury from Vascular Plants’, Physiol. Plant. 32, 174–176.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rea, A.W., Lindberg, S.E., Scherbatskoy, T. et al. Mercury Accumulation in Foliage over Time in Two Northern Mixed-Hardwood Forests. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 133, 49–67 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012919731598
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012919731598