Gaseous Elemental Mercury Exchange Fluxes over Air-Soil Interfaces in the Degraded Grasslands of Northeastern China
Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that may potentially have serious impacts on human health and ecologies. The gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) exchanges between terrestrial surfaces and the atmosphere play important roles in the global Hg cycle. This study investigated GEM exchange fluxes over two...
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/9/917 |
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| author | Gang Zhang Xuhang Zhou Xu Li Lei Wang Xiangyun Li Zheng Luo Yangjie Zhang Zhiyun Yang Rongfang Hu Zhanhui Tang Deli Wang Zhaojun Wang |
| author_facet | Gang Zhang Xuhang Zhou Xu Li Lei Wang Xiangyun Li Zheng Luo Yangjie Zhang Zhiyun Yang Rongfang Hu Zhanhui Tang Deli Wang Zhaojun Wang |
| author_sort | Gang Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that may potentially have serious impacts on human health and ecologies. The gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) exchanges between terrestrial surfaces and the atmosphere play important roles in the global Hg cycle. This study investigated GEM exchange fluxes over two land cover types (including <i>Artemisia anethifolia</i> coverage and removal and bare soil) using a dynamic flux chamber attached to the Lumex<sup>R</sup> RA915+ Hg analyzer during the growing season from May to September of 2018, in which the interactive effects of plant coverage and meteorological conditions were highlighted. The daily mean ambient levels of GEM and the total mercury concentrations of the soil (TSM) were determined to be 12.4 ± 3.6 to 16.4 ± 5.6 ng·m<sup>−3</sup> and 32.8 to 36.2 ng·g<sup>−1</sup>, respectively, for all the measurements from May to September. The GEM exchange fluxes (ng·m<sup>−2</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>) during the five-month period for the three treatments included the net emissions from the soil to the atmosphere (mean 5.4 to 7.1; range of −27.0 to 47.3), which varied diurnally, with releases occurring during the daytime hours and depositions occurring during the nighttime hours. Significant differences were observed in the fluxes between the vegetation coverage and removal during the growing months (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In addition, it was determined that the Hg fluxes were positively correlated with the solar radiation and air/soil temperature levels and negatively correlated with the air relative humidity and soil moisture under all the conditions (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Overall, the results obtained in this study demonstrated that the grassland soil served as both a source and a sink for atmospheric Hg, depending on the season and meteorological factors. Furthermore, the plants played an important inhibiting role in the Hg exchanges between the soil and the atmosphere. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:53:02Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-7737 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:53:02Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-33bbc29e2b9a4abe8d036b9f046e14d92023-11-22T12:06:11ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372021-09-0110991710.3390/biology10090917Gaseous Elemental Mercury Exchange Fluxes over Air-Soil Interfaces in the Degraded Grasslands of Northeastern ChinaGang Zhang0Xuhang Zhou1Xu Li2Lei Wang3Xiangyun Li4Zheng Luo5Yangjie Zhang6Zhiyun Yang7Rongfang Hu8Zhanhui Tang9Deli Wang10Zhaojun Wang11School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaSchool of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, ChinaMercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that may potentially have serious impacts on human health and ecologies. The gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) exchanges between terrestrial surfaces and the atmosphere play important roles in the global Hg cycle. This study investigated GEM exchange fluxes over two land cover types (including <i>Artemisia anethifolia</i> coverage and removal and bare soil) using a dynamic flux chamber attached to the Lumex<sup>R</sup> RA915+ Hg analyzer during the growing season from May to September of 2018, in which the interactive effects of plant coverage and meteorological conditions were highlighted. The daily mean ambient levels of GEM and the total mercury concentrations of the soil (TSM) were determined to be 12.4 ± 3.6 to 16.4 ± 5.6 ng·m<sup>−3</sup> and 32.8 to 36.2 ng·g<sup>−1</sup>, respectively, for all the measurements from May to September. The GEM exchange fluxes (ng·m<sup>−2</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>) during the five-month period for the three treatments included the net emissions from the soil to the atmosphere (mean 5.4 to 7.1; range of −27.0 to 47.3), which varied diurnally, with releases occurring during the daytime hours and depositions occurring during the nighttime hours. Significant differences were observed in the fluxes between the vegetation coverage and removal during the growing months (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In addition, it was determined that the Hg fluxes were positively correlated with the solar radiation and air/soil temperature levels and negatively correlated with the air relative humidity and soil moisture under all the conditions (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Overall, the results obtained in this study demonstrated that the grassland soil served as both a source and a sink for atmospheric Hg, depending on the season and meteorological factors. Furthermore, the plants played an important inhibiting role in the Hg exchanges between the soil and the atmosphere.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/9/917dynamic flux chambermercury fluxessoil/air interfacessaline and alkaline land typesvegetation |
| spellingShingle | Gang Zhang Xuhang Zhou Xu Li Lei Wang Xiangyun Li Zheng Luo Yangjie Zhang Zhiyun Yang Rongfang Hu Zhanhui Tang Deli Wang Zhaojun Wang Gaseous Elemental Mercury Exchange Fluxes over Air-Soil Interfaces in the Degraded Grasslands of Northeastern China Biology dynamic flux chamber mercury fluxes soil/air interfaces saline and alkaline land types vegetation |
| title | Gaseous Elemental Mercury Exchange Fluxes over Air-Soil Interfaces in the Degraded Grasslands of Northeastern China |
| title_full | Gaseous Elemental Mercury Exchange Fluxes over Air-Soil Interfaces in the Degraded Grasslands of Northeastern China |
| title_fullStr | Gaseous Elemental Mercury Exchange Fluxes over Air-Soil Interfaces in the Degraded Grasslands of Northeastern China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gaseous Elemental Mercury Exchange Fluxes over Air-Soil Interfaces in the Degraded Grasslands of Northeastern China |
| title_short | Gaseous Elemental Mercury Exchange Fluxes over Air-Soil Interfaces in the Degraded Grasslands of Northeastern China |
| title_sort | gaseous elemental mercury exchange fluxes over air soil interfaces in the degraded grasslands of northeastern china |
| topic | dynamic flux chamber mercury fluxes soil/air interfaces saline and alkaline land types vegetation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/9/917 |
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