Recent findings suggest that tropical ecosystems, particularly tropical forests, are a major component in the global mercury (Hg) cycle. Because of the high productivity and litter production in tropical forests, 70% of the global atmospheric (dry) deposition of Hg to forest topsoils occur in these environments. There has been an increasing interest of the significance of determining the relationship between Hg accumulation in leaves and leaf/canopy characteristics, such as specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area index (LAI), respectively, to update global Hg models.
This DFG funded project aims to provide a more detailed characterization of the vegetation Hg cycle in tropical forests, including two different forest types Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forest (TDBF) and Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forest (TMBF). The proposed study aims to determine how different tropical forest types and associated climatic conditions drive Hg accumulation in vegetation, as well as its transport from the atmosphere to the soil. Finally, we will quantify Hg accumulation in the organic topsoil and its relationship to carbon accumulation and Hg fluxes in litterfall providing which will provide valuable additional data for future global Hg models.
Project participants: Dr. Marta Pérez Rodríguez, Dr. Juan Francisco Morales Arteaga
Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under Project number 533341683.