Trace Elements in Medicine (Moscow)
2019, 20(4): 57-62
ORIGINAL PAPERS

ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF MERCURY CONTENT IN THE AGROCENOSIS OF CENTRAL SIBERIA

A.E. Pobilat¹, E.I. Voloshin²

¹ Krasnoyarsk State Medical University, 660022, Krasnoyarsk, Partisan Zheleznyak St., 1, Russia
² Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University, 6660049, Krasnoyarsk, Mira Ave., 90, Russia

DOI: 10.19112/2413-6174-2019-20-4-57-62 

ABSTRACT. The gross content of mercury in soils of farm lands of Krasnoyarsk Region fluctuates from 0.001 to 0.360 mg/kg. The spatial contents and distribution of mercury in regional soils depends on their particle size distribution and the concentration of the element in bedrock. The highest content of mercury is noted in 0 – 20 cm layer of the soils of Nazarovsky forest-steppe zone created on carbonaceous bedrock. The lowered concentration of the element characterizes the soils of Kansk and Minusinsk forest-steppe zones. The average content of mercury in lixivious chernozyom makes 0.029 mg/kg, podzolized – 0.025, common – 0.024, carbonate – 0.019 mg/kg. The concentration of mercury in the top horizon is in dark-gray forest soils it equals 0.028 mg/kg, gray and light-gray – 0.027, intrazonal – 0.026 and sod-podsolic – 0.025 mg/kg. The background content of mercury in soils on the area of 2. 54 million. 0.025 mg/kg that is 2. 5 times higher than Clark of this element equal to 1 hectare. The soils of Krasnoyarsk Region are characterized by lowered content of mercury in comparison with analogs from Western Siberia. In the surveyed territory the pollution of soils of farm lands with mercury was not revealed. The content of mercury in plants is defined by the properties of soils, concentration the element in them, weather conditions and biological features of crops. The content of mercury in the yield of crops fluctuates from 0.0003 to 0.016 mg/kg of crude weight. Among grain crops higher content of mercury (0.0020 mg/kg) is typical of summer barley. In the group of vegetable crops the increased concentration of mercury allocates cabbage heads (0.0014 mg/kg). In forage crops most of mercury is contained in hay of perennial beans and cereals (0.0040 mg/kg). According to the content of mercury the crop production grown up in the territory of Krasnoyarsk Region is ecologically safe.

KEYWORDS: soil, mercury, background contents, cultures, ecologically safe production