Multi-component tree biomass approach to estimate litterfall Hg deposition in a warm-temperate coniferous forest in southern Europe.

Terrestrial ecosystems are a key component in the biogeochemical cycle of Hg. About 50% of atmospheric Hg is captured in the system because of the ability of vegetation to retain and subsequently transfer it to the soil surface through litterfall. In a stand dominated by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), the widest spatially distributed tree species in the northern hemisphere and the second worldwide, this two-year study evaluated monthly the litterfall Hg deposition fluxes (FHg) through all litterfall fractions involved (needles, twigs, bark, miscellaneous, and male inflorescences).

Physicochemical Properties and Microbiome of Vineyard Soils from DOP Ribeiro (NW Spain) Are Influenced by Agricultural Management.

Agricultural management influences the soil ecosystem by affecting its physicochemical properties, residues of pesticides and microbiome. As vineyards grow crops with the highest incidence of pesticides, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of conventional and sustainable management systems of vineyards from DOP Ribeiro on the soil's condition. Samples from soils under three different management systems were collected, and the main soil physicochemical properties were evaluated.

Mercury mobilization in shrubland after a prescribed fire in NE Portugal: Insight on soil organic matter composition and different aggregate size.

Soils constitute the major reservoir of mercury (Hg) in terrestrial ecosystems, whose stability may be threatened by wildfires. This research attempts to look at the effect of prescribed fire on the presence of Hg in a shrubland ecosystem from NE Portugal, delving into its relationship with soil aggregate size and the molecular composition of soil organic matter (SOM). During the prescribed fire, on average 347 mg Hg ha were lost from the burnt aboveground biomass of shrubs and 263 mg Hg ha from the combustion of the soil organic horizon.

Variation of Hg concentration and accumulation in the soil of maritime pine plantations along a coast-inland transect in SW Europe.

Climatic conditions have been shown as a major driver of the fate of Hg in forest ecosystems at a global scale, but less is known about climatic effects at shorter scales. This study assesses whether the concentration and pools of Hg in soils collected from seventeen Pinus pinaster stands describing a coastal-inland transect in SW Europe vary along a regional climatic gradient. In each stand, samples of the organic subhorizons (OL, OF + OH) and the mineral soil (up to 40 cm) were collected and some general physico-chemical properties and total Hg (THg) were analyzed.