UMR 6298, ArTeHiS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté-CNRS, Dijon, 21000, France.
UMR 5204 EDYTEM, Université Savoie Mont Blanc-CNRS, Le Bourget-du-Lac cedex, 73376, France.
Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 21;8(1):3436. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-20983-0.
Throughout history, ancient human societies exploited mineral resources all over the world, even in areas that are now protected and considered to be relatively pristine. Here, we show that past mining still has an impact on wildlife in some French protected areas. We measured cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in topsoils and wood mouse kidneys from sites located in the Cévennes and the Morvan. The maximum levels of metals in these topsoils are one or two orders of magnitude greater than their commonly reported mean values in European topsoils. The transfer to biota was effective, as the lead concentration (and to a lesser extent, cadmium) in wood mouse kidneys increased with soil concentration, unlike copper and zinc, providing direct evidence that lead emitted in the environment several centuries ago is still bioavailable to free-ranging mammals. The negative correlation between kidney lead concentration and animal body condition suggests that historical mining activity may continue to play a role in the complex relationships between trace metal pollution and body indices. Ancient mining sites could therefore be used to assess the long-term fate of trace metals in soils and the subsequent risks to human health and the environment.
纵观历史，古代人类社会在世界各地开采矿产资源，即使是在现在被保护和认为相对原始的地区。在这里，我们表明过去的采矿活动仍然对法国一些保护区的野生动物产生影响。我们测量了位于塞文山脉和莫尔旺地区的土壤和林鼠肾脏中的镉、铜、铅和锌浓度。这些土壤中的金属最高水平比欧洲土壤中通常报道的平均值高出一到两个数量级。金属向生物群转移是有效的，因为林鼠肾脏中的铅浓度（以及在较小程度上的镉浓度）随土壤浓度的增加而增加，而铜和锌则不然，这直接证明了几个世纪前排放到环境中的铅仍然对自由放养的哺乳动物具有生物可用性。肾脏中铅浓度与动物身体状况之间的负相关表明，历史采矿活动可能继续在痕量金属污染和身体指数之间的复杂关系中发挥作用。因此，古代采矿场可用于评估土壤中痕量金属的长期命运以及对人类健康和环境的后续风险。
