Ecological risk and enrichment of potentially toxic elements in the soil and eroded sediment in an organic vineyard (Tokaj Nagy Hill, Hungary).

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs), such as Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, and Co, can accumulate in vineyard soils due to repeated uses of inorganic pesticides and chemical or organic fertilizers. In sloping vineyards, PTEs can also be moved by soil erosion resulting in their accumulation in low-energy zones within the landscape, adversely affecting the soil environment. Our study evaluated the ecological risk related to the pseudo-total and bioavailable PTE contents (Zn, Pb, Co, Ni, Cr, and Cu) in the soil and eroded sediment samples from an organic vineyard in Tokaj (NE Hungary).

Biogeochemical gradients and microbial communities in Winogradsky columns established with polluted wetland sediments.

A Winogradsky column is a miniature ecosystem established with enriched sediments that can be used to study the relationship between biogeochemical gradients, microbial diversity and pollutant transformation. Biogeochemical processes and microbial communities changed with time and depth in Winogradsky columns incubated with heavy-metal-polluted wetland sediments for 520 days. 16S rRNA surveys were complemented by geochemical analyses, including heavy metal proportioning, to evaluate gradients in the mostly anoxic columns.

Copper stable isotopes to trace copper behavior in wetland systems.

Wetlands are reactive zones of the landscape that can sequester metals released by industrial and agricultural activities. Copper (Cu) stable isotope ratios (δ(65)Cu) have recently been used as tracers of transport and transformation processes in polluted environments. Here, we used Cu stable isotopes to trace the behavior of Cu in a stormwater wetland receiving runoff from a vineyard catchment (Alsace, France).