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Study on Mercury Methylation in Phragmites australis Soil and Its Influencing Factors

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Abstract

Soil samples of 0–10 cm and subsurface depths of 10–20 cm were collected from the Phragmites australis soil in the Liaohe Estuary, and different salinities (CK, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%) were prepared in the laboratory under simulated water flooding; soil samples of two depths were added for cultivation under anaerobic conditions, measuring Hg and MeHg contents in soil samples. The results showed that with the increase of salinity, the content of Hg and MeHg in the soil decreased; when the salinity was 2.0%, salinity significantly inhibited the occurrence of mercury methylation. The mass ratio of MeHg in the soils at the depths of 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm increased with the increase of the culture time. It showed that the MeHg mass ratio increased rapidly on the 15th day but decreased significantly on the 25th day; there was no significant correlation between the soil Hg mass ratio and pH and organic matter. The soil Hg mass ratio at a depth of 10–20 cm was negative to SRB correlation relationship; according to the linear relationship, when the SRB content was large, it was not conducive to provide more mercury ions for the occurrence of mercury methylation. There was no significant negative correlation between Hg and MeHg in different depths of soil.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to all those involved in this work.

Funding

The authors are grateful to the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571085) and Liaoning Provincial Department of Science and Technology Key Research and Development Plan Guidance Program Project (2019JH8/10200024).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Shenyang Unitableversity, Shenyang, 110000, China

    Zhang Shiwei, Zheng Dongmei, Xin Yuan, Mao Ying, Shi Liu & Li Huiying

  2. Key Laboratory of Regional Pollution and Ecological Restoration of Ministry of Education, Shenyang University, Shenyang, China

    Zhang Shiwei, Zheng Dongmei, Xin Yuan, Mao Ying, Shi Liu & Li Huiying

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  1. Zhang Shiwei
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  2. Zheng Dongmei
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  3. Xin Yuan
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  4. Mao Ying
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  5. Shi Liu
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  6. Li Huiying
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Correspondence to Zheng Dongmei.

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Shiwei, Z., Dongmei, Z., Yuan, X. et al. Study on Mercury Methylation in Phragmites australis Soil and Its Influencing Factors. Water Air Soil Pollut 231, 426 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04744-2

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