https://www.ccmss.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/is_community_based_forest_management_more_effective_than_protected_areas.pdf

Is community-based forest management more effective than protected areas?: A comparison of land use/land cover change in two neighboring study areas of the Central Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

The environmental cycling of mercury (Hg) can be affected by natural and anthropogenic perturbations Of particular concern is how these disruptions increase mobilization of Hg from sites and alter the formation of monomethylmercury (MeHg), a bioaccumulative form of Hg for humans and wildlife The scientific community has made significant advances in recent years in understanding the processes contributing to the risk of MeHg in the environment The objective of this paper is to synthesize the scientific understanding of how Hg cycling in the aquatic environment is influenced by landscape perturbations at the local scale, perturbations that include watershed loadings, deforestation, reservoir and wetland creation, rice production, urbanization, mining and industrial point source pollution, and remediation We focus on the major challenges associated with each type of alteration, as well as management opportunities that could lessen both MeHg levels in biota and exposure to humans For example, our understanding of approximate response times to changes in Hg inputs from various sources or landscape alterations could lead to policies that prioritize the avoidance of certain activities in the most vulnerable systems and sequestration of Hg in deep soil and sediment pools The remediation of Hg pollution from historical mining and other industries is shifting towards in situ technologies that could be less disruptive and less costly than conventional approaches Contemporary artisanal gold mining has well-documented impacts with respect to Hg; however, significant social and political challenges remain in implementing effective policies to minimize Hg use Much remains to be learned as we strive towards the meaningful application of our understanding for stakeholders, including communities living near Hg-polluted sites, environmental policy makers, and scientists and engineers tasked with developing watershed management solutions Site-specific assessments of MeHg exposure risk will require new methods to predict the impacts of anthropogenic perturbations and an understanding of the complexity of Hg cycling at the local scale

/pdf/challenges-and-opportunities-for-managing-aquatic-mercury-xhnncpkoqh.pdf

Challenges and opportunities for managing aquatic mercury pollution in altered landscapes.

Introductory Statistics for Biology

Moss and lichen biomonitoring of atmospheric mercury: A review.

The rapid development of information and communication technology provides an opportunity for scientists to develop a quantitative analytical method that is built on a mobile gadget as a detector. In this paper, we report a low-cost, simple and portable analytical method for mercury ion quantification based on digital image colorimetry coupled with a smartphone application. A small amount of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was used as a colorimetric agent that is selective only to mercury ions. The yellowish brown color of AgNPs instantly changed to colorless after the addition of mercury ions due to a redox reaction. To increase the portability, we attached the AgNPs onto a medium to create a paper-based analytical device. The final data processing of the colorimetric analysis was conducted using an android application available on the Google Play Store, called “Mercury Detector”. The proposed method has good sensitivity, with a detection limit of 0.86 ppb, which is comparable to those of bulk and more expensive instruments. This allows for the detection of mercury ions as low as 2 ppb (10 nM), which is also the maximum contaminant level permitted in drinking water by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The proposed method was applied to real samples that provide satisfactory results on accuracy (2.4%) and precision (2.5%).

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/7/2/25/pdf

Smartphone Coupled with a Paper-Based Colorimetric Device for Sensitive and Portable Mercury Ion Sensing

Water contamination with heavy metals, mainly mercury and cyanide (CN) due to small scale of public mines and large scale of industrial mines have been in concern to residents around the area. Surveys of heavy metal contamination in aquatic environments, such as rivers and paddy fields over two gold mine areas in West Jawa were conducted and possible solution of using indigenous plants for phytoremediation was studied. The results showed that most of the rivers and other aquatic environments were affected by gold mine activities. Rivers, ponds, and paddy fields around illegal public mines were mostly contaminated by mercury in considerably high levels, such as paddy fields in two locations (Nunggul and Leuwijamang, Pongkor) were contaminated up to 22.68 and 7.73 ppm of Hg, respectively. Whereas rivers located around large scale industrial mines were contaminated by CN. Possible solution of cleaning up by using green technology of phytoremediation was examined. Some plant species grew in the contaminated sites showed high tolerance and potentially effective in accumulating cyanide or mercury in their roots and above ground portions. Lindernia crustacea (L.) F.M., Digitaria radicosa (Presl) Miq, Paspalum conjugatum, Cyperus kyllingia accumulated 89.13, 50.93, 1.78, and 0.77 ppm of Hg, respectively. Whereas, Paspalum conjugatum, Cyperus kyllingia accumulated 16.52 and 33. 16 ppm of CN respectively.

https://journal.ipb.ac.id/index.php/hayati/article/download/278/143

Mercury and Cyanide Contaminations in Gold Mine Environment and Possible Solution of Cleaning Up by Using Phytoextraction

The distribution of mercury around the small-scale gold mining area along the Cikaniki river, Bogor, Indonesia.

Phytoremediation is defined as cleaning up of pollutants mediated primarily by plants. It is an emerging technology for environmental remediation that offers a low-cost technique suitable for use against different types of contaminants in a variety of media. Phytoremediation is potentially applicable to a diversity of substances, involving hyperaccumulators heavy metals and radionuclides. It is also applicable to other inorganic contaminants such as arsenic, various salts and nutrients, and a variety of organic contaminants, including explosives, petroleum hydrocarbons and pesticides. At least there are one taxon of plant as hyperaccumulator for Cd, 28 taxa for Co, 37 taxa for Cu, 9 taxa for Mg, 317 taxa for Ni, and 11 taxa for Zn. Extensive progress were done in characterizing physiology of plants which hyperaccumulate or hypertolerate metals. Hypertolerance is fundamental to hyperaccumulator, and high rates of uptake and translocation are observed in hyperaccumulator plants. Hyperaccumulator plants and agronomic technology were undertaken to improve the annual rate of phytoextraction and to allow recycling of soil toxic metals accumulated in plant biomass. These techniques are very likely to support commercial environmental remediation. Most phytoremediation systems are still in development, or in the stage of plant breeding to improve the cultivars for field use. However, application for commercial purposes has already been initiated. Many opportunities have also been identified for research and development to improve the efficiency of phytoremediation.

Fitoremediasi dan Potensi Tumbuhan Hiperakumulator

This study investigates the distribution of total mercury (T-Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in the soil and water around the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) area along the Cikaniki River, West Java, Indonesia. The concentration of T-Hg and MeHg in the forest soil ranged from 0.07 to 16.7 mg kg−1 and from <0.07 to 2.0 μg kg−1, respectively, whereas it ranged from 0.40 to 24.9 mg kg−1 and from <0.07 to 56.3 μg kg−1, respectively, in the paddy field soil. In the vertical variation of the T-Hg of forest soil, the highest values were observed at the soil surface, and these values were found to decrease with increasing depth. A similar variation was observed for MeHg and total organic carbon content (TOC), and a linear relationship was observed between them. Mercury deposited on the soil surface can be trapped and retained by organic matter and subjected to methylation. The slope of the line obtained for the T-Hg vs. TOC plot became larger near the ASGM villages, implying a higher rate of mercury deposition in these areas. In contrast, the plots of MeHg vs. TOC fell along the same trend line regardless of the distance from the ASGM village. Organic carbon content may be a predominant factor in controlling MeHg formation in forest soils. The T-Hg concentration in the river water ranged from 0.40 to 9.6 μg L−1. River water used for irrigation can prove to be a source of mercury for the paddy fields. The concentrations of Hg0 and Hg2+ in river water showed similar variations as that observed for the T-Hg concentration. The highest Hg0 concentration of 3.2 μg L−1 can be attributed to the waste inflow from work sites. The presence of Hg0 in river water can become a source of mercury present in the atmosphere along the river. MeHg concentration in the river water was found to be 0.004–0.14% of T-Hg concentration, which was considerably lower than the concentrations of other Hg species. However, MeHg comprised approximately 0.2% of the T-Hg in paddy field soil. Mercury deposited from the atmosphere and the river water can be subjected to methylation. Paddy fields are very important ecosystems; therefore, the effect of MeHg on these ecosystems and human beings should be further investigated.

Nuril Hidayati

Papers

Mercury and Cyanide Contaminations in Gold Mine Environment and Possible Solution of Cleaning Up by Using Phytoextraction

The distribution of mercury around the small-scale gold mining area along the Cikaniki river, Bogor, Indonesia.

Fitoremediasi dan Potensi Tumbuhan Hiperakumulator

Distribution of total mercury and methylmercury around the small-scale gold mining area along the Cikaniki River, Bogor, Indonesia

Using native epiphytic ferns to estimate the atmospheric mercury levels in a small-scale gold mining area of West Java, Indonesia.