Abstract

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.

The Peruvian Amazon is facing the highest known input of mercury pollution of any ecosystem globally. Intact forests located near artisanal gold mining are particularly at risk from this toxin.

Details

Title
Amazon forests capture high levels of atmospheric mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining
Author
Gerson, Jacqueline R 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Szponar Natalie 2 ; Zambrano Angelica Almeyda 3 ; Bergquist, Bridget 2 ; Broadbent Eben 3 ; Driscoll, Charles T 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Erkenswick Gideon 5 ; Evers, David C 6 ; Fernandez, Luis E 7 ; Hsu-Kim, Heileen 8   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Giancarlo, Inga 9 ; Lansdale, Kelsey N 10 ; Marchese, Melissa J 11 ; Martinez, Ari 12 ; Moore, Caroline 13 ; Pan, William K 11 ; Purizaca, Raúl Pérez 14 ; Sánchez, Victor 15 ; Silman Miles 16 ; Ury, Emily A 17   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Vega, Claudia 18 ; Watsa Mrinalini 19   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Bernhardt, Emily S 17 

1  Duke University, Department of Biology, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961) 
2  University of Toronto, Department of Earth Sciences, Toronto, Canada (GRID:grid.17063.33) (ISNI:0000 0001 2157 2938) 
3  School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA (GRID:grid.15276.37) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8091) 
4  Syracuse University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse, USA (GRID:grid.264484.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2189 1568) 
5  Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Molecular Microbiology, St. Louis, USA (GRID:grid.4367.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2355 7002); Field Projects International, Escondido, USA (GRID:grid.511161.3) 
6  Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, USA (GRID:grid.472962.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 0730 8065) 
7  Centro de Innovación Científica Amazónica (CINCIA), Puerto Maldonado, Peru (GRID:grid.472962.c); Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES), Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, USA (GRID:grid.241167.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2185 3318); Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, USA (GRID:grid.241167.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2185 3318) 
8  Duke University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961) 
9  San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) 
10  Environmental Science Program, Duke University, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961) 
11  Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961) 
12  California State University, Department of Biological Sciences, Long Beach, USA (GRID:grid.213902.b) (ISNI:0000 0000 9093 6830) 
13  San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, USA (GRID:grid.213902.b) 
14  Universidad Nacional de Piura, Piura, Peru (GRID:grid.441932.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 0418 8231) 
15  Instituto de Investigación en Ecología y Conservación (IIECOO), La Libertad, Peru (GRID:grid.441932.9) 
16  Centro de Innovación Científica Amazónica (CINCIA), Puerto Maldonado, Peru (GRID:grid.441932.9); Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES), Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, USA (GRID:grid.241167.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2185 3318); Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, USA (GRID:grid.241167.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2185 3318) 
17  Duke University, Department of Biology, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961) 
18  Centro de Innovación Científica Amazónica (CINCIA), Puerto Maldonado, Peru (GRID:grid.26009.3d); Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES), Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, USA (GRID:grid.241167.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2185 3318); Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, USA (GRID:grid.241167.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2185 3318) 
19  Field Projects International, Escondido, USA (GRID:grid.511161.3); San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, USA (GRID:grid.511161.3) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-27997-3
ProQuest document ID
2623500670
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.