Mercury is a global pollutant that harms human and wildlife health through chronic exposure. The role of urban forests in Hg biogeochemistry has been understudied in cities without historical mining or current coal combustion. This study aimed to quantify total Hg concentrations and pools in urban forests to determine whether adjacent land-use impacts Hg accumulation. Three cities in the northeastern United States were studied: Hartford, Connecticut; Poughkeepsie, New York; and Springfield, Massachusetts. We identified ~20 urban forests sites in a ~10 km by ~10 km grid for each city and sampled foliage and soil at each site. Foliage from Populus exhibited significantly lower Hg concentrations (15.6 ± 2.1 ng g-1) than mean foliar Hg concentrations (23.7 ± 0.6 ng g-1) but most deciduous genera had comparable concentrations. Average forest floor Hg concentrations (195 ± 21 ng g-1) and Hg pools (1.9 ± 0.5 mg m-2) were similar to previous, non-urban studies in the region. Average A horizon (182 ± 19 ng g-1) and B horizon (125 ± 14 ng g-1) Hg concentrations were double those of regional forest soils. Mineral soil Hg pools for the top 30 cm (49 ± 6 mg m-2) averaged two to ten times higher than rural, montane forests in the region. Soil pH, LOI, and %clay were poorly correlated with mineral soil Hg concentrations. Instead, highest foliar and soil Hg concentrations and pools were in urban forests adjacent to high and medium intensity developed areas in Springfield and Hartford. To differentiate the impact of land-uses not captured by the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) system, we implemented new land-use categories. Industrial areas had highest foliar and soil Hg concentrations and pools of any land use. Our results show increasing land-use increases Hg accumulation in urban forests.

中文翻译：

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三个城市的故事：纽约州波基普西市，哈特福德CT和美国马萨诸塞州斯普林菲尔德的城市落叶落叶和土壤中的汞。

汞是一种全球性污染物，通过长期暴露会危害人类和野生动植物的健康。在没有历史采矿或当前煤炭燃烧的城市中，人们尚未充分研究城市森林在汞生物地球化学中的作用。这项研究旨在量化城市森林中的总汞浓度和池，以确定相邻土地利用是否会影响汞积累。研究了美国东北部的三个城市：康涅狄格州哈特福德；纽约州波基普西市；和马萨诸塞州斯普林菲尔德。我们在每个城市的约10 km x 10 km网格中确定了约20个城市森林地点，并在每个地点采样了树叶和土壤。来自胡杨的叶片显示出的汞含量（15.6±2.1 ng g-1）显着低于平均叶片汞含量（23.7±0.6 ng g-1），但是大多数落叶类的汞含量均相当。森林平均地面汞含量（195±21 ng g-1）和汞库（1.9±0.5 mg m-2）与该地区以前的非城市研究相似。汞的平均A水平（182±19 ng g-1）和B水平（125±14 ng g-1）Hg浓度是区域森林土壤的两倍。前30 cm（49±6 mg m-2）的矿质汞池平均比该地区的农村山地森林高2至10倍。土壤的pH，LOI和％粘土与矿质土壤汞浓度的相关性很弱。取而代之的是，最高的叶面和土壤中汞的含量和储量都位于斯普林菲尔德和哈特福德高强度和中等强度发达地区附近的城市森林中。为了区分国家土地覆盖数据库（NLCD）系统未捕获的土地利用的影响，我们实施了新的土地利用类别。在所有土地利用中，工业区的叶面和土壤汞含量及池中汞含量最高。我们的结果表明，土地利用的增加会增加城市森林中汞的积累。