Affiliations 

  • 1 Systems Ecology and Resource Management, Department of Organism Biology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, CPi 264/1, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium. Electronic address: giovannawolswijk@gmail.com
  • 2 Systems Ecology and Resource Management, Department of Organism Biology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, CPi 264/1, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium; Mangrove Research Unit (MARU), Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), 21030 Kuala Nerus Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: satyam@umt.edu.my
  • 3 Mangrove Research Unit (MARU), Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), 21030 Kuala Nerus Terengganu, Malaysia
  • 4 Systems Ecology and Resource Management, Department of Organism Biology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, CPi 264/1, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
  • 5 Laboratorio di Ecologia e Fisiologia Vegetale, Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli studi di Firenze (UNIFI), Via Micheli 1, 50121 Firenze, Italy
  • 6 Systems Ecology and Resource Management, Department of Organism Biology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, CPi 264/1, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium; Laboratory of General Botany and Nature Management, Biocomplexity Research Focus, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Bio-engineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Campus Oefenplein, VUB-APNA-WE Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
J Hazard Mater, 2020 04 05;387:121665.
PMID: 31784131 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121665

Abstract

Charcoal production activities at the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) in Peninsular Malaysia have a potential to emit volatile compounds such as Hg back into the ambient environment, raising concerns on the public health and safety. The present study was aimed at analyzing Hg concentration from different plant/animal tissues and sediment samples (in total 786 samples) to understand clearly the Hg distribution at the MMFR. Leaves of Rhizophora spp. showed higher Hg concentration with an increasing trend from young, to mature, to senescent and decomposing stages, which was possibly due to accumulation of Hg over time. The low Hg concentration in Rhizophora roots and bark suggests a limited absorption from the sediments and a meagre accumulation/partitioning by the plant tissue, respectively. In the case of mangrove cockles the concentration of Hg was lower than the permissible limits for seafood consumption. Although the mangrove gastropod - Cassidula aurisfelis Bruguière had rather elevated Hg in the muscle tissue, it is still less than the environmental safely limit. Beside the chances of atmospheric deposition for Hg, the sediment samples were found to be unpolluted in nature, indicating that in general the MMFR is still safe in terms of Hg pollution.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.