Geochemistry of mercury in pristine and flooded ferralitic soils of a tropical rain forest in French Guiana,South America

In ferralitic soils of the dense Guianese forest, mercury (Hg) concentrations of the surface horizons varied from 122 to 318 ng/g d.w. The behaviour and accumulation of Hg is not related to the accumulation of organic matter but to the penetration of humic substances and the progressive adsorption onto iron (Fe) oxy-hydroxydes in the mineral horizons. The flooding of such soils with the creation of a small reservoir has lead to a release of 20% of the Hg initially present. This observation is related to the reduction of the Fe oxy-hydroxydes and to the migration of the organo-metallic complexes to the water column. Although physico-chemical conditions are appropriate for bacterial methylation, methyl Hg (MeHg) levels of these soils are very low. The process regulating MeHg production and its possible loss from the soil are unknown.