Mangifera indica as Bioindicator of Mercury Atmospheric Contamination in an ASGM Area in North Gorontalo Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

We report the atmospheric Hg contamination in an artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) area in North Gorontalo, Indonesia. It is well known that atmospheric Hg contaminates the air, water, soil, and living organisms, including trees. In this study, we calculated total weight of heavy metals, especially Hg, and quantitatively measure the concentrations of heavy metals, especially Hg, in tree bark from an ASGM area. Tree bark can be used for the environmental assessment of atmospheric contamination because it attaches and absorbs heavy metals. Atmospheric Hg and other heavy metals, including Fe and Mn, and As were detected on the tree bark samples. The total weight of Hg, As, Fe, and Mn in the tree bark samples ranged from undetectable (ND) to 9.77, ND to 81.3, 124–4028, 37.0–1376 µg dry weight (DW), respectively per weight of sample. Based on quantitatively analysis micro-PIXE, the highest concentrations of all these metals were detected in the outer part of the bark. We conclude that tree bark can adsorb atmospheric contamination, which is then absorbed into the inner tissues.

Keywords

• atmospheric
• mercury
• ASGM
• environmental
• tree bark
• heavy metals