Cadmium compartmentation and cycling in a grassland ecosystem in the Deer Lodge Valley, Montana

Thesis/Dissertation · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1972

OSTI ID:6537569

Munshower, F F

Distribution, compartmentation, and transfer of cadmium was studied in a grassland ecosystem where airborne cadmium from a zinc smelter has accumulated for approximately 50 years until permanent closure in 1969. Analyses of plants grown in controlled Cd concentrations in nutrient solutions and soil cultures, and of plants collected in the field, established that Cd was absorbed and translocated by plants in a predictable manner. Plant Cd concentrations are a function of the Cd concentration of the root medium, time of collection during the growing season, and species. Grasshopper Cd concentrations, and the liver and kidney Cd concentrations of cattle, swine, and Columbian ground squirrels, demonstrated Cd accumulation above plant Cd levels as a function of the animal's age. The presence of Cd in the kidney of red fox, badger, and weasel documented Cd transfer from herbivores to carnivores. A mathematical model of the ecosystem was developed depicting the system as a closed, self-contained unit. Concentrations and quantities of Cd in each ecological compartment were derived in terms of the Cd concentration at the lower trophic level, life span of the organism, and its biomass on an area basis. The half-life for the introduced Cd in the grassland ecosystem appears to be in excess of 1000 years, and shorter in cultivated lands.

• OSTI ID: 6537569
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560303* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Plants-- (-1987)
560305 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Vertebrates-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS
BODY
BODY BURDEN
CADMIUM
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CROPS
DOCUMENT TYPES
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
ELEMENTS
GRASS
METALS
ORGANS
PLANTS
REVIEWS
WILD ANIMALS