Evaluating the Level of Total Mercury Present in the Soils of a Renowned Tea Production Region
Total mercury pollution in oolong tea garden soils was comprehensively investigated in this study. Soil samples were collected from 146 villages in a famous oolong tea production area. The total mercury content in the soils ranged from 0.025 to 0.296 mg/kg, with a median of 0.105 mg/kg. According to...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/2/435 |
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| author | Jinghua Xu Ruijia Xie Liping Liu Zhiqun Huang |
| author_facet | Jinghua Xu Ruijia Xie Liping Liu Zhiqun Huang |
| author_sort | Jinghua Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Total mercury pollution in oolong tea garden soils was comprehensively investigated in this study. Soil samples were collected from 146 villages in a famous oolong tea production area. The total mercury content in the soils ranged from 0.025 to 0.296 mg/kg, with a median of 0.105 mg/kg. According to the Soil Accumulation Index Method, 67.81% of samples were pollution-free, 31.51% had pollution levels from none to moderate, and 0.68% were moderately polluted. The PMF model revealed that natural geochemical processes were the main mercury source, contributing 72.4%, with some from transportation, coal combustion, and industrial activities. Most values were below the HQ threshold, suggesting low non-carcinogenic risk from mercury in most soils. Further research is needed to understand mercury’s bioaccumulation in tea leaves and assess short- and long-term exposure risks for a better understanding of its long-term impacts on the tea industry and human health. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-13b97cff6c55404e80dfa645a980f3dd |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-13b97cff6c55404e80dfa645a980f3dd2025-08-20T03:11:07ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-02-0115243510.3390/agronomy15020435Evaluating the Level of Total Mercury Present in the Soils of a Renowned Tea Production RegionJinghua Xu0Ruijia Xie1Liping Liu2Zhiqun Huang3School of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, ChinaEnvironmental Monitoring Center Station of Quanzhou in Fujian Province, Quanzhou 362000, ChinaEnvironmental Monitoring Center Station of Quanzhou in Fujian Province, Quanzhou 362000, ChinaSchool of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, ChinaTotal mercury pollution in oolong tea garden soils was comprehensively investigated in this study. Soil samples were collected from 146 villages in a famous oolong tea production area. The total mercury content in the soils ranged from 0.025 to 0.296 mg/kg, with a median of 0.105 mg/kg. According to the Soil Accumulation Index Method, 67.81% of samples were pollution-free, 31.51% had pollution levels from none to moderate, and 0.68% were moderately polluted. The PMF model revealed that natural geochemical processes were the main mercury source, contributing 72.4%, with some from transportation, coal combustion, and industrial activities. Most values were below the HQ threshold, suggesting low non-carcinogenic risk from mercury in most soils. Further research is needed to understand mercury’s bioaccumulation in tea leaves and assess short- and long-term exposure risks for a better understanding of its long-term impacts on the tea industry and human health.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/2/435mercury pollutiontea garden soilsource analysishealth risk assessment |
| spellingShingle | Jinghua Xu Ruijia Xie Liping Liu Zhiqun Huang Evaluating the Level of Total Mercury Present in the Soils of a Renowned Tea Production Region Agronomy mercury pollution tea garden soil source analysis health risk assessment |
| title | Evaluating the Level of Total Mercury Present in the Soils of a Renowned Tea Production Region |
| title_full | Evaluating the Level of Total Mercury Present in the Soils of a Renowned Tea Production Region |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the Level of Total Mercury Present in the Soils of a Renowned Tea Production Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the Level of Total Mercury Present in the Soils of a Renowned Tea Production Region |
| title_short | Evaluating the Level of Total Mercury Present in the Soils of a Renowned Tea Production Region |
| title_sort | evaluating the level of total mercury present in the soils of a renowned tea production region |
| topic | mercury pollution tea garden soil source analysis health risk assessment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/2/435 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jinghuaxu evaluatingtheleveloftotalmercurypresentinthesoilsofarenownedteaproductionregion AT ruijiaxie evaluatingtheleveloftotalmercurypresentinthesoilsofarenownedteaproductionregion AT lipingliu evaluatingtheleveloftotalmercurypresentinthesoilsofarenownedteaproductionregion AT zhiqunhuang evaluatingtheleveloftotalmercurypresentinthesoilsofarenownedteaproductionregion |