Mercury emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining throughout the Global South exceed coal combustion as the largest global source of mercury. We examined mercury deposition and storage in an area of the Peruvian Amazon heavily impacted by artisanal gold mining. Intact forests in the Peruvian Amazon near gold mining receive extremely high inputs of mercury and experience elevated total mercury and methylmercury in the atmosphere, canopy foliage, and soils. Here we show for the first time that an intact forest canopy near artisanal gold mining intercepts large amounts of particulate and gaseous mercury, at a rate proportional with total leaf area. We document substantial mercury accumulation in soils, biomass, and resident songbirds in some of the Amazon's most protected and biodiverse areas, raising important questions about how mercury pollution may constrain modern and future conservation efforts in these tropical ecosystems.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8799693PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-27997-3DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

gold mining
20
artisanal gold
12
mercury
9
mercury pollution
8
peruvian amazon
8
gold
5
mining
5
amazon forests
4
forests capture
4
capture high
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!