Soil Department, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil.
Soil Department, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Sep 1;785:147271. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147271. Epub 2021 Apr 26.
Coastal areas of Antarctica are subjected to anthropic contamination from around the world by trace metals biotransported and accumulated by seabird excrements. To explore this hypothesis, this study investigated the influence of seabirds on the contents of trace metals in soil organic fractions from Antarctica under different climatic conditions and from different parent materials. For this, soil profiles from the Maritime Antarctica region were selected based on the criteria of ornithogenesis, parent material, and climate. The contents of C, N, and selected metals (Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn) were analysed in the organic matter associated with minerals (MAOM), the particulate fraction (POM), and in the total soil (MAOM + POM). The ornithogenic soils presented the highest amounts of C and N in the soil, MAOM, and POM as compared to nonornithogenic soils. Seabird activity resulted in an enrichment of Pb, Zn, and Cu. Among these biotransported metals, Cu and Zn seem to originate from natural biogenic processes in marine food chains, unlike Pb, which seems to come from anthropogenic sources. The soils developed from igneous rocks presented higher amounts of Ba, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Sr in the soil, MAOM, and POM than soils from sedimentary rocks. The climate had no clear effect on most metals. Hence, seabirds enrich soils, MAOM, and POM with Cu, Zn, and Pb, whereas the amounts of Ba, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Sr are mainly lithogenic, associated with the parent material. Monitoring biotransported trace metals in ornithogenic soils is of great importance, since they can create environmental toxicity to terrestrial plants and animals and can influence the food chain in the coastal areas of Antarctica.
南极洲沿海地区受到来自世界各地的痕量金属的人为污染，这些金属通过海鸟的排泄物进行生物转运和积累。为了探索这一假说，本研究调查了在不同气候条件下和不同母质来源的南极洲土壤有机部分中，海鸟对痕量金属含量的影响。为此，根据鸟粪成因、母质和气候标准，选择了来自南极洲海域的土壤剖面。对与矿物质相关的有机质（MAOM）、颗粒部分（POM）和总土壤（MAOM+POM）中的 C、N 和选定金属（Ba、Co、Cr、Cu、Fe、Mn、Ni、Pb、Sr 和 Zn）的含量进行了分析。与非鸟粪成因土壤相比，鸟粪成因土壤中土壤、MAOM 和 POM 中的 C 和 N 含量最高。海鸟活动导致 Pb、Zn 和 Cu 的富集。在这些生物转运金属中，Cu 和 Zn 似乎来自海洋食物链中的天然生物过程，而 Pb 似乎来自人为来源。火成岩发育的土壤在土壤、MAOM 和 POM 中比沉积岩发育的土壤具有更高含量的 Ba、Co、Cu、Fe、Mn 和 Sr。气候对大多数金属没有明显影响。因此，海鸟使土壤、MAOM 和 POM 富含有 Cu、Zn 和 Pb，而 Ba、Co、Cr、Fe、Mn、Ni 和 Sr 的含量主要为岩石成因，与母质有关。监测鸟粪土壤中的生物转运痕量金属非常重要，因为它们会对陆地植物和动物造成环境毒性，并影响南极洲沿海地区的食物链。
