Results show a significant decrease in surface soil org. Soil erosion exposes the mineral horizon, a layer with a higher Hg burden, to the elements thus provoking and accelerating Hg leaching.
Thus, deforestation and the assocd. Hg leaching could contribute to the fish Hg contamination measured in the Napo River watershed.
(mh=KdHKjT5aFm5OI0KQ)10.jpg "Whores Macapá")
Early Hg mobility in cultivated tropical soils one year after slash-and-burn of the primary forest, in the Brazilian Amazon. In the Brazilian Amazon, forest conversion to agricultural lands slash-and-burn cultivation contributes to soil mercury Hg release and to aquatic ecosystem contamination.
Recent studies have shown that soil Hg loss occurs rapidly after deforestation, suggesting that Hg mobility could be related to the massive cation input resulting from biomass burning. The effects of the first year of slash-and-burn agriculture on soil Hg levels was studied at the regional scale of the Tapajos River, in the state of Para, Brazilian Amazon.
A total of soil samples were collected in 26 farms of five riparian communities of the Tapajos basin. In Sept. In August , one year after the initial burning, a second campaign was held and the exact same sites were re-sampled.
