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| Mitigate risk of“old mercury”for sustainable agriculture |
| Received:December 13, 2024 |
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| KeyWord:methylmercury;remobilization of legacy mercury;coupled elemental cycling;food security;sustainable development |
| Author Name | Affiliation | E-mail | | ZHONG Huan | School of Environment, Nanjing University, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing 210023, China | | | NING Wenjing | School of Environment, Nanjing University, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing 210023, China | | | TANG Wenli | School of Environment, Nanjing University, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing 210023, China | tangwenli@nju.edu.cn |
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| Abstract: |
| “Old mercury”in the environment, characterized by long aging and low bioavailability, may be remobilized under anthropogenic perturbations and transformed into the potent neurotoxin methylmercury that enters human food web, posing ecological and health risks. An important driver of such processes is the continuous input of macroelements such as carbon and sulfur resulting from agricultural activities, which alters the microbe-mediated coupled macro - and trace-element cycle, facilitating the remobilization of“old mercury”and thus mercury methylation, thereby contributing to methylmercury formation in nature. The establishment of nature-based solutions, based on the uncovered“Macroelement-Microbe-Mercury nexus”（TriM）, to regulate the multi-element cycle and hence mercury transformation to effectively mitigate the risk of“old mercury”will provide a powerful complement to the current global strategy of mercury mitigation centered on reducing mercury emissions. These efforts would foster sustainable agriculture and safeguard global population. |
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