Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of Herbaceous Plants on Methylmercury Net Production and Release From Sediment After Flooding in the Water-Level Fluctuation Zone of the Jialing River

  • Published:
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To explore the effects of herbaceous plants on mercury (Hg) behaviors after flooding in the water-level fluctuation zone (WLFZ) of Jialing River, three typical local plants (D. pyramidalis, A. philoxeroides and C. dactylon) and their in-situ sediments were collected for flooding experiments to study the Hg dynamics of water and sediment in different treatments. The results showed that flooding increased sediment MeHg concentrations and flooded plants (especially for the D. pyramidalis) promoted this process. Similarly, the highest dissolved MeHg level and proportion of MeHg to total Hg (%MeHg) were observed in plant-water treatments in the presence of D. pyramidalis, indicating the potential for the methylation of Hg in the water body influenced by the decay process of herbaceous plants. These results suggest that the herbaceous plant D. pyramidalis contributes more to Hg methylation and release in the WLFZ of the Jialing River than other plants studied.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bai WY (2006) The Primary Study on the Distributions and Transformation of the Different Species Mercury in Aha Reservoir. Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

  • Bloom NS, Watras CJ, Hurley JP (1991) Impact of acidification on the methylmercury cycle of remote seepage lakes. Water Air Soil Pollut 56:477–491. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00342293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM (2001) Environmental impacts of Brazil’s Tucuruí Dam: unlearned lessons for hydroelectric development in Amazonia. Environ Manage 27:377–396. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002670010156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grondin A, Lucotte M, Fortin B, Mucci A (1995) Mercury and lead profiles and burdens in soils of Quebec (Canada) before and after flooding. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 52:2493–2506. https://doi.org/10.1139/f95-840

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall BD, Rosenberg DM, Wiens AP (1998) Methyl mercury in aquatic insects from an experimental reservoir. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 55:2036–2047. https://doi.org/10.1139/f98-079

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He TR, Feng XB, Dai QJ, Qiu GL, Shang LH, Jiang HM, Liang L (2004) Determination of Methyl Mercury in Sediments and Soils by GC-CVAFS after Aqueous Phase Ethylation. Earth and Environment 32:83–86

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson RJM, Gherini SA, Watras CJ, Porcella DB (1994) Modeling the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in lakes The mercury cycling model and its application to the MTL study lakes. In: Watras CJ, Huckabee JW (eds) Mercury pollution: Integration and synthesis, pp 473–523

  • Ikingura JR, Akagi H (2003) Total mercury and methylmercury levels in fish from hydroelectric reservoirs in Tanzania. Sci Total Environ 304:355–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00581-8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang H, Zhang L, Zheng B, Wang G (2012) Role of organic acids in desorption of mercury from contaminated soils in eastern Shandong Province, China. Chin Geogr Sci 22:414–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang HM, Feng XB, Liang L, Shang LH, Yan HY, Qiu GL (2004) Determination of methylmercury in natural waters by Distillation -ethylation GC-CVAFS. China Environ Sci 24:568–571

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston TA, Bodaly RA, Mathias JA (1991) Predicting Fish Mercury Levels from Physical Characteristics of Boreal Reservoirs. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 48:1468–1475. https://doi.org/10.1139/f91-174

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kotnik J, Horvat M, Fajon V, Logar M (2002) Mercury in Small Freshwater Lakes: A Case Study: Lake Velenje. Slovenia Water Air & Soil Pollution 134:317–337. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014192906185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee Y-H, Hultberg H (1990) Methylmercury in some swedish surface waters. Environ Toxicol Chem 9:833–841. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620090703

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li CX, Sun RG, Wang DY, Zhao Z, Zhang JY, Ma M, Zhang C (2014) Release of Mercury from Soil and Plant in Water-Level-Fluctuating Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area and Its Accumulation in Zebrafish. Environ Sci 35:284–290

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason R, Sullivan K (1999) The distribution and speciation of mercury in the South and equatorial Atlantic. Deep Sea Res Part II 46:937–956. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(99)00010-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mergler D, Anderson HA, Chan LHingM, Mahaffey KR, Murray M, Mineshi Sakamoto, Stern AH (2007) Methylmercury Exposure and Health Effects in Humans: A Worldwide Concern. Ambio 36:3–11. https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447(2007)36[3:MEAHEI]2.0.CO;2

  • Miskimmin BM, Rudd JWM, Kelly CA (1992) Influence of Dissolved Organic Carbon, pH, and Microbial Respiration Rates on Mercury Methylation and Demethylation in Lake Water. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 49:17–22. https://doi.org/10.1139/f92-002

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morel FMM, Kraepiel AML, Amyot M (1998) The chemical cycle and bioaccumulation of mercury. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 29:543–566. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.29.1.543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smolińska B, Król K (2012) Leaching of mercury during phytoextraction assisted by EDTA, KI and citric acid. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 87:1360–1365. https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.3826

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun R, Wang D, Mao W, Zhao S, Zhang C (2015) Photodegradation of methylmercury in Jialing River of Chongqing, China. J Environ Sci (China) 32:8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2014.09.042

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (2002) Method 1631, Revision E: Mercury in Water by Oxidation, Purge and Trap, and Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry

  • Yin D, Wang Y, Jiang T, Qin C, Xiang Y, Chen Q, Xue J, Wang D (2018) Methylmercury production in soil in the water-level-fluctuating zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China: The key role of low-molecular-weight organic acids. Environ Pollut 235:186–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.12.072

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin D, Wang Y, Xiang Y, Xu Q, Xie Q, Zhang C, Liu J, Wang D (2020) Production and migration of methylmercury in water-level-fluctuating zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China: Dual roles of flooding-tolerant perennial herb. J Hazard Mater 381:120962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.120962

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Zhang C, Sun RG, Wang DY (2014) Mercury Dynamics of Several Plants Collected from the Water-Level Fluctuation Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area During Flooding and Its Impact on Water Body. Environ Sci 35:4560–4566

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Chongqing Natural Science Foundation (cstc2021jcyj-msxmX1065) and the Ph.D. Programs Foundation of Chongqing Industry Polytechnic College (2022GZYBSZK3-16).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chongqing Industry Polytechnic College, 401120, Chongqing, P. R. China

    Li Liang

  2. College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, 400715, Chongqing, P. R. China

    Dingyong Wang

Authors
  1. Li Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dingyong Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dingyong Wang.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liang, L., Wang, D. Effects of Herbaceous Plants on Methylmercury Net Production and Release From Sediment After Flooding in the Water-Level Fluctuation Zone of the Jialing River. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 109, 735–740 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-022-03591-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-022-03591-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation