Upward mercury transfer by anecic earthworms in a contaminated soil

Article Article scientifique Article Upward mercury transfer by anecic earthworms in a contaminated soil eng 2019 author Ferber Tania 689950 author Slaveykova Vera 0000-0002-8361-2509 510054 author Sauzet Ophélie author Boivin Pascal 644030 32-37 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2019.02.001 1164-5563 https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1164556318302838 Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of global importance but its fate and impact in soils is overlooked. Earthworms are responsible for soil bioturbation but their interaction with Hg is poorly described. This study was conducted on a Hg contaminated site in Switzerland. The objectives were to determine the Hg tolerance of Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea nocturna, and their capability to redistribute Hg from deep contaminated soil layers to remediated topsoil layers. Earthworms were incubated for 30 days in 35 cm height soil columns with soil Hg contents ranging from 0.19 to 83 mg Hg kg−1. 100% survival was observed except for the highest soil concentration (67% survival). Corresponding bioaccumulation factors ranged from 1 to 17. In parallel, Hg upward transfer by earthworms from a deep contaminated soil layer to a non-contaminated 40 cm thick surface layer was studied in 80 cm repacked soil columns. After 70 days, total Hg content of surface casts was 10 times higher than the non-contaminated soil. Furthermore, the 25–30 and 35–40 cm layers had a Hg content of 0.537 and 8.54 mg Hg kg−1 respectively, both exceeding the local threshold intervention value of 0.5 mg Hg kg−1. We concluded that (i) earthworms not acclimated to polluted soils can survive Hg levels as high as 85 mg Hg kg−1 in mesocosms, and (ii) a 40 cm thick remediated layer would be recontaminated after 6 months of earthworm activity if the underneath layer remained contaminated. Earthworms Mercury Ecotoxicology Bioturbation Lumbricus terrestris Aporrectodea nocturna Dewey 333.7-333.9 Dewey 550 18 Institut des sciences de l'environnement 0DB 41 Département F.-A. Forel des sciences de l'environnement et de l'eau 153 false 752 Environmental Biogeochemistry and Ecotoxicology 944 ISE Eau 938 ISE Pôle Sciences European Journal of Soil Biology 91 332e2446-96cc-40d5-acb6-5fd02122d41a Article (Published version) Restricted 1-s2.0-S1164556318302838-main.pdf 423728 application/pdf restrictedAccess Centres et instituts / Institut des sciences de l'environnement Faculté des sciences / Section des sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement / Département F.-A. Forel des sciences de l'environnement et de l'eau

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Upward mercury transfer by anecic earthworms in a contaminated soil	European Journal of Soil Biology			2019	453	1

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Ferber, Tania