Effect of heavy metals on soil enzyme activity at different field conditions in Middle Spis mining area (Slovakia).

Heavy metals concentrations were measured in the former mining area located in Hornad river valley (Slovakia). Soil samples were taken in 2012 from 20 sites at two field types (grasslands, heaps of waste material) and two different areas. Total content of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg), urease (URE), acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), soil reaction (pH) were changing depending on the field/area type.

Mercury in various tissues of three mustelid species and other trace metals in liver of European otter from Eastern Finland.

Mercury concentrations were monitored in European otter (Lutra lutra), European polecat (Mustela putorius) and European pine marten (Martes martes) collected in Eastern Finland during the period 1972-2008. Otters mainly eat fish, which is an important reason to monitor the bioaccumulation of mercury in this predator. In this species, the highest concentrations were found in fur followed by liver and kidney, and the mercury concentrations increased with increasing age and body weight.

Predatory insects as bioindicators of heavy metal pollution.

Heavy metal concentrations of different predatory insects were studied near by a steel factory and from control sites. Waterstriders (Gerridae), dragon fly larvae (Odonata), antlion larvae (Myrmeleontidae) and ants (Formicidae) were analyzed by AAS. In most cases the metal concentrations were higher near the factory, but e.

Exchange of mercury between atmosphere and vegetation under contaminated conditions.

Adsorption and desorption of mercury was studied under laboratory conditions using moss (Sphagnum girgensohnii) and Rye grass (Lolium perenne) at different temperatures. Desorption was also studied in a transplantation experiment. The adsorption was rapid and strong for both plant species at different temperatures (+10 to +60 degrees C) and exposure times (1 h, 1 month) while the evaporation was negligible.

Effects of ash application on cadmium concentration in small mammals.

In order to assess the effects of wood ash application to forests on small mammals, we collected bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and common shrews (Sorex araneus) from a forest area in southern Finland. Part of the sample population was from sites that had been treated with ash 1.5 years earlier, part from untreated control sites.

In situ bioremediation through mulching of soil polluted by a copper-nickel smelter.

Bioremediation of a heavy metal-polluted soil was investigated in a 3-yr field experiment by adding mulch to a polluted forest floor. The mulch consisted of a mixture of compost and woodchips. The remediation treatment decreased the toxicity of the soil solution to bacteria as determined by the [3H]-thymidine incorporation technique, that is, by measuring the growth rate of soil bacteria extracted from unpolluted humus after exposing them to soil solution containing heavy metals from the experimental plots.

Psyllids as a potential source of heavy metals for predators.

Contents of Al, Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, Mn, Ni, and Hg were determined in 14 species of psyllids and in leaves of their host plants from unpolluted sites (Finland) and industrially polluted sites in Poland. Generally, psyllids accumulated low amounts of metals, but their metal burdens increased with age. Exuvia were important for the elimination of Al, Ni, and Mn, and larval wax for Al, Cu, and Ni.