title: Mercury Inhibits Soil Enzyme Activity in a Lower Concentration than the Guideline Value.
abstract: Three soil types - neutral, alkaline and acidic were experimentally contaminated with nine different concentrations of inorganic mercury (0, 5, 10, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 mg/kg) to derive effective concentrations of mercury that exert toxicity on soil quality. Bioavailability of mercury in terms of water solubility was lower in acidic soil with higher organic carbon. Dehydrogenase enzyme activity and nitrification rate were chosen as indicators to assess soil quality. Inorganic mercury significantly inhibited (p < 0.001) microbial activities in the soils. The critical mercury contents (EC10) were found to be less than the available safe limits for inorganic mercury which demonstrated inadequacy of existing guideline values.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia. khandaker.mahbub@mymail.unisa.edu.au.|Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia. khandaker.mahbub@mymail.unisa.edu.au.|Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, Level 1, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia. khandaker.mahbub@mymail.unisa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Khandaker Rayhan
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Mahbub
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia.|Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, Level 1, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.
authors.forename: Kannan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia.|Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia.|Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, Level 1, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.
authors.forename: Mallavarapu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Megharaj
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia.|Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA, 5095, Australia.|Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, Level 1, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naidu
mesh_terms: D001682:Biological Availability; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity*; D058465:Nitrification / Q000187:drug effects*; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Dehydrogenase; Mercury; Nitrification; Soil microbial quality