Dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities
Blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), located at the land-sea interface, provide critical ecological services including the buffering of anthropogenic pollutants. Understanding the interactions between trace element (TE) loads in BCEs and socioeconomic development is imperative to informing management plan...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Environment International |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412023005056 |
| _version_ | 1797659907412983808 |
|---|---|
| author | Chuancheng Fu Yuan Li Chen Tu Jian Hu Lin Zeng Li Qian Peter Christie Yongming Luo |
| author_facet | Chuancheng Fu Yuan Li Chen Tu Jian Hu Lin Zeng Li Qian Peter Christie Yongming Luo |
| author_sort | Chuancheng Fu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), located at the land-sea interface, provide critical ecological services including the buffering of anthropogenic pollutants. Understanding the interactions between trace element (TE) loads in BCEs and socioeconomic development is imperative to informing management plans to address pollution issues. However, the identification of anthropogenic TE pollution in BCEs remains uncertain due to the complex geochemical and depositional processes and asynchronous socioeconomic development along continental coastlines. Here, priority-controlled TE (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) concentrations in the mangrove, saltmarsh and seagrass soils and plant tissues along the coastline of China were investigated while taking bare flat and upland soils as corresponding references. We demonstrate that blue carbon (BC) soils accumulated markedly higher concentrations of anthropogenic TEs than the reference soils, mainly due to the effective trapping of fine-grained particles and higher binding capacities. We identify the time course of TE changes over the last 100 years which shows increasing anthropogenic TE accumulation resulting from military activities (1930–1950) and the growth of industrial and agricultural activities (1950–1980), then reaching a maximum after national economic reform (1980–2000). Since the 2000s, decreases in TE discharges driven by socioeconomic reform and strengthened environmental regulations have led to a widespread reversal of anthropogenic TE concentrations in BC soils. Based on the current TE flux we estimate that BCEs can filter over 27.3–100 % of the TEs emitted in industrial wastewaters from Chinese coastal provinces annually. However, the uptake of these TEs by plants can be substantially reduced through various mechanisms offered by edaphic properties such as organic carbon, clay, and sulfur contents. Therefore, enhancing TE filtering while preventing TEs from entering food webs through the conservation and restoration of BCEs will greatly aid in achieving the sustainable development goal of the coastal zone under intensified anthropogenic activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:22:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55b252bbfb42478aa930c7a06c9ff403 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:22:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-55b252bbfb42478aa930c7a06c9ff4032023-10-15T04:36:33ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202023-10-01180108232Dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activitiesChuancheng Fu0Yuan Li1Chen Tu2Jian Hu3Lin Zeng4Li Qian5Peter Christie6Yongming Luo7CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Marine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi ArabiaCAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Coastal Salt Marsh Ecosystems and Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources, Jiangsu Geological Bureau, Nanjing 210018, ChinaSchool of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Corresponding author at: CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.Blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), located at the land-sea interface, provide critical ecological services including the buffering of anthropogenic pollutants. Understanding the interactions between trace element (TE) loads in BCEs and socioeconomic development is imperative to informing management plans to address pollution issues. However, the identification of anthropogenic TE pollution in BCEs remains uncertain due to the complex geochemical and depositional processes and asynchronous socioeconomic development along continental coastlines. Here, priority-controlled TE (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) concentrations in the mangrove, saltmarsh and seagrass soils and plant tissues along the coastline of China were investigated while taking bare flat and upland soils as corresponding references. We demonstrate that blue carbon (BC) soils accumulated markedly higher concentrations of anthropogenic TEs than the reference soils, mainly due to the effective trapping of fine-grained particles and higher binding capacities. We identify the time course of TE changes over the last 100 years which shows increasing anthropogenic TE accumulation resulting from military activities (1930–1950) and the growth of industrial and agricultural activities (1950–1980), then reaching a maximum after national economic reform (1980–2000). Since the 2000s, decreases in TE discharges driven by socioeconomic reform and strengthened environmental regulations have led to a widespread reversal of anthropogenic TE concentrations in BC soils. Based on the current TE flux we estimate that BCEs can filter over 27.3–100 % of the TEs emitted in industrial wastewaters from Chinese coastal provinces annually. However, the uptake of these TEs by plants can be substantially reduced through various mechanisms offered by edaphic properties such as organic carbon, clay, and sulfur contents. Therefore, enhancing TE filtering while preventing TEs from entering food webs through the conservation and restoration of BCEs will greatly aid in achieving the sustainable development goal of the coastal zone under intensified anthropogenic activities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412023005056Blue carbon ecosystemsSoilsPlantsTrace elementsDynamic enrichmentAnthropogenic activities |
| spellingShingle | Chuancheng Fu Yuan Li Chen Tu Jian Hu Lin Zeng Li Qian Peter Christie Yongming Luo Dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities Environment International Blue carbon ecosystems Soils Plants Trace elements Dynamic enrichment Anthropogenic activities |
| title | Dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities |
| title_full | Dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities |
| title_fullStr | Dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities |
| title_short | Dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities |
| title_sort | dynamics of trace element enrichment in blue carbon ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities |
| topic | Blue carbon ecosystems Soils Plants Trace elements Dynamic enrichment Anthropogenic activities |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412023005056 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chuanchengfu dynamicsoftraceelementenrichmentinbluecarbonecosystemsinrelationtoanthropogenicactivities AT yuanli dynamicsoftraceelementenrichmentinbluecarbonecosystemsinrelationtoanthropogenicactivities AT chentu dynamicsoftraceelementenrichmentinbluecarbonecosystemsinrelationtoanthropogenicactivities AT jianhu dynamicsoftraceelementenrichmentinbluecarbonecosystemsinrelationtoanthropogenicactivities AT linzeng dynamicsoftraceelementenrichmentinbluecarbonecosystemsinrelationtoanthropogenicactivities AT liqian dynamicsoftraceelementenrichmentinbluecarbonecosystemsinrelationtoanthropogenicactivities AT peterchristie dynamicsoftraceelementenrichmentinbluecarbonecosystemsinrelationtoanthropogenicactivities AT yongmingluo dynamicsoftraceelementenrichmentinbluecarbonecosystemsinrelationtoanthropogenicactivities |