Meta-analysis of soil mercury accumulation by vegetables

Abstract

Mercury pollution in soil poses serious risks to human health through consumption of contaminated vegetables. We used a meta-analysis to examine the mercury enrichment ability of different vegetables and the main factors affecting mercury uptake. We drew the following conclusions. (1) Plants with a lower bioconcentration factor (BCF) include cowpea, long bean, and radish, whereas plants with a higher BCF include green pepper, spinach, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage. (2) Leaf and cucurbit have the highest and lowest capacity, respectively, for mercury enrichment. (3) When soil pH is <6.5, mercury level uptake by the plant increases, whereas it decreases when the pH is >7.5, meaning that increased soil pH reduces mercury uptake in soil. (4) When soil organic matter (SOM) is lower than 20 g/kg, tuber plants have the highest and eggplant has the lowest mercury adsorption capacity, respectively. When SOM is 20–30 g/kg, cucurbit has the lowest and leaf the highest adsorption capacity, respectively. When SOM is higher than 30 g/kg, however, eggplant has the highest mercury adsorption capacity, but there were no significant differences among the five types of vegetables. We argue that this meta-analysis aids in selecting vegetables suitable for absorption of heavy metals from polluted soil.