We studied concentrations of 34 essential and non-essential elements in samples of edible Bay Bolete (Imleria badia) mushrooms added by samples of the growing substrate and bioavailable fraction. The samples were collected from six forested sites affected differently by industrial pollution and underlain by compositionally contrasting bedrock: granite, amphibolite, and peridotite. In all cases, mushrooms behaved as a bioconcentrating system for elements such as Ag, K, P, Rb, S, and Se (BCF > 1) being a bioexcluding system for the rest of the elements analyzed (BCF < 1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe conducted a study of elemental compositions of Xerocomellus chrysenteron samples accompanied by samples of related substrate soils. All samples were collected during the harvesting seasons 2021 and 2022 from three forested sites almost unpolluted by recent human activities and underlain by contrasting bedrock (granite, amphibolite, and serpentinite). Elements such as Ag, Cd, K, P, Rb, S, Se, and Zn were the main elements enriched in the mushroom's fruiting bodies relative to the substrate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransect sampling is an under-exploited tool in isotope studies of atmospheric pollution. Few studies have combined Zn and Pb isotope ratios to investigate whether atmospheric pollution at a receptor site is dominated by a different anthropogenic source of each of these toxic elements. It has been also unclear whether pollution abatement strategies in Central Europe have already resulted in regionally well-mixed background isotope signature of atmospheric Zn and Pb.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA study of a sample of Xerocomus subtomentosus revealed that the fruiting body behaved as an accumulating biosystem with respect to Rb (BF = 36), K and Ag (BF = 5.0 for both), and, to a lesser extent, Mg, Cu, Zn, and Se (BF = 1.7-3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn highly industrialized, densely populated parts of Central Europe, mobilization of legacy Zn pollution from forest ecosystems may negatively affect the quality of water resources. To test this hypothesis, we determined the Zn/Zn isotope ratios of 15 Zn reservoirs and fluxes in an acidified, spruce die-back affected mountain-slope catchment in northern Czech Republic. The δZn values of precipitation, organic horizon, and runoff were statistically indistinguishable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMagnesium isotope ratios (26Mg/24Mg) can provide insights into the origin of Mg pools and fluxes in catchments where Mg sources have distinct isotope compositions, and the direction and magnitude of Mg isotope fractionations are known. Variability in Mg isotope compositions was investigated in three small, spruce-forested catchments in the Czech Republic (Central Europe) situated along an industrial pollution gradient. The following combinations of catchment characteristics were selected for the study: low-Mg bedrock + low Mg deposition (site LYS, underlain by leucogranite); high-Mg bedrock + low Mg deposition (site PLB, underlain by serpentinite), and low-Mg bedrock + high Mg deposition (site UDL, underlain by orthogneiss).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOSIRIS-REx will return pristine samples of carbonaceous asteroid Bennu. This article describes how pristine was defined based on expectations of Bennu and on a realistic understanding of what is achievable with a constrained schedule and budget, and how that definition flowed to requirements and implementation. To return a pristine sample, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft sampling hardware was maintained at level 100 A/2 and <180 ng/cm of amino acids and hydrazine on the sampler head through precision cleaning, control of materials, and vigilance.
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