Potentially Toxic Elements

Our work on the biogeochemistry of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in soils and sediments focuses on how climate change may affect the mobility and bioavailability of pollutants in the natural environment.

Climate change and urbanisation is resulting in more frequent and longer duration floods, while greater environmental quality standards have reduce the pollutants discharged into rivers. As a result, we expect floodplains downstream from urban catchments to shift from becoming a sink to becoming a source of potentially toxic elements.

We investigated the impact of flood frequency and duration on potentially toxic element mobility in floodplains of the Loddon catchment, a tributary of the Thames.

The objective of our research on mercury biogeochemistry was to relate site-specific environmental factors to mercury bioaccumulation in biota at the base of the food chain in mudflats of the Bay of Fundy, Canada.

The Bay of Fundy has the world’s highest tidal amplitude, which creates huge coastal mudflats.

These mudflats are home to a diverse population of polychaete worms and are designated as internationally important feeding areas for long-distance migratory shorebirds such as the Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Our research on the Bay of Fundy mudflats showed that, counter to conventional wisdom, the feeding ecology of polychaete worms and the effect that they have on sediment biogeochemistry is more important than their tropic level for predicting mercury biomagnification through the coastal food chain.

Further work demonstrated that polychaete worms increased the rate of mercury methylation in intertidal sediments but that coastal managed retreat did not increase the risk of mercury methylation within the first year

Papers on Potentially Toxic Elements

Sizmur, T., Frost, H., Felipe-Sotelo, M., Bond, T., Mallory, M.L. and O'Driscoll, N.J., 2024. Methylmercury sorption to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibres and relevance to environmental exposure. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

Frost, H., Bond, T., Sizmur, T. and Felipe-Sotelo, M., 2024. Sorption of metal ions onto PET-derived microplastic fibres. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 26(12), pp.2309-2319.

Garau, M., Cascio, M.L., Vasileiadis, S., Sizmur, T., Nieddu, M., Pinna, M.V., Sirca, C., Spano, D., Roggero, P.P., Garau, G. and Castaldi, P., 2024. Using biochar for environmental recovery and boosting the yield of valuable non-food crops: The case of hemp in a soil contaminated by potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Heliyon, 10(6).

Ogbuagu, C., Robinson, S. and Sizmur, T., 2023. Feedstock nitrogen content mediates maximum possible Pb sorption capacity of biochars. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. 25, 2102-2109

Garau, M., Garau, G., Sizmur, T., Coole, S., Castaldi, P. and Pinna, M.V., 2023. Biochar and Eisenia fetida (Savigny) promote sorghum growth and the immobilization of potentially toxic elements in contaminated soils. Applied Soil Ecology, 182, p.104697.

Gerwing, T.G., Gerwing, A.M.A., Davies, M.M., Dracott, K., Campbell, L., Juanes, F., Dudas, S.E., Kimori, J., Coole, S., Kidd, J. Thomson, H.M., and Sizmur, T. 2023. Sediment geochemistry influences infaunal invertebrate community composition and population abundances. Marine Biology, 170(1), pp.1-12.

Ponting, J., Verhoef, A., Watts, M.J. and Sizmur, T., 2022. Field observations to establish the impact of fluvial flooding on potentially toxic element (PTE) mobility in floodplain soils. Science of The Total Environment, 811, p.151378.

Garau, M., Sizmur, T., Coole, S., Castaldi, P. and Garau, G., 2022. Impact of Eisenia fetida earthworms and biochar on potentially toxic element mobility and health of a contaminated soil. Science of the Total Environment, 806, p.151255.

Ponting, J., Kelly, T.J., Verhoef, A., Watts, M.J. and Sizmur, T., 2021. The impact of increased flooding occurrence on the mobility of potentially toxic elements in floodplain soil–A review. Science of The Total Environment, p.142040.

Xia, H., Wang, L., Qiao, Y., Kong, W., Xue, Y., Wang, Z., Kong, L., Xue, Y. and Sizmur, T., 2020. Elucidating the source–sink relationships of zinc biofortification in wheat grains: A review. Food and Energy Security, 9(4), p.e243.

Kelly, T.J., Hamilton, E., Watts, M.J., Ponting, J. and Sizmur, T., 2020. The effect of flooding and drainage duration on the release of trace elements from floodplain soils. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

Sizmur, T. and Richardson, J., 2020. Earthworms accelerate the biogeochemical cycling of potentially toxic elements: Results of a meta-analysis. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, p.107865.

Richardson, J.B., Görres, J.H., and Sizmur, T. 2020 Synthesis of earthworm trace metal uptake and bioaccumulation data: Role of soil concentration, earthworm ecophysiology, and experimental design. Environmental Pollution 262, 114126.

Campbell, L., Sizmur, T., Juanes, F. and Gerwing, TG. 2019 Passive reclamation of soft-sediment ecosystems on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Sea Research. 155, 101796.

Campbell, L, Wood, L., Gerwing, AMA, Allen, S., Sizmur, T., Rogers, M, Gray, O., Drewes, M., Juanes, F., and Gerwing, T.G. 2019 A rapid, non-invasive population assessment technique for marine burrowing macrofauna inhabiting soft sediments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 227, 106343

Sizmur, T. Campbell, L., Dracott, K., Jones, M., O'driscoll, N.J. and Gerwing, T. 2019 Relationships between Potentially Toxic Elements in intertidal sediments and their bioaccumulation by benthic invertebrates. PloS One 14(9), e0216767

Rodriguez-Vila, A., Selwyn-Smith, H., Enunwa, L. Covelo, E, and Sizmur, T. 2018 Predicting Cu and Zn sorption capacity of biochar from feedstock C/N ratio and pyrolysis temperature. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 25, 7730-7739.

Sizmur, T., O’Driscoll, N.J. and Cai. Y. 2018 Preface: Special issue in Mercury Biogeochemistry and Fate. Journal of Environmental Sciences. 68, 1-4.

Sizmur, T., Fresno, T., Akgül, G., Frost, H. and Moreno-Jiménez, E. 2017 Biochar modification to enhance sorption of inorganics from water. Bioresource Technology. 246, 34-47.

Sizmur, T., McArthur, G., Risk, D., Tordon, R. and O’Driscoll, N.J. 2017 Gaseous mercury flux from salt marshes is mediated by solar radiation and temperature. Atmospheric Environment 153, 117-125.

Sizmur, T., Godfrey, A. and O’Driscoll, N. 2016 Effects of coastal managed retreat on mercury biogeochemistry. Environmental Pollution 209, 99-106. (highlighted in a blog on the science communication website External Diffusion)

Hodson, M.E., Black, S., Brinzac, L., Carpenter, D., Lambkin, D.C., Mosselmans, J.F.W., Palumbo-Roe, B. Schofield, P.F. Sizmur, T. and Versteegh, E.A.A. 2014 Biology as an agent of chemical and mineralogical change in soil. Procedia Earth and Planetary Science 10 114-117

Sizmur, T., Canário, J., Edmonds, S., Godfrey, A. and O’Driscoll, N.J. 2013 The polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor increases mercury lability and methylation in intertidal mudflats. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 32(8), 1888-1895.

Sizmur, T., Canário, J., Gerwing, T.G., Mallory, M.L. and O’Driscoll, N.J. 2013 Mercury and methylmercury bioaccumulation by polychaete worms is governed by both feeding ecology and mercury bioavailability in coastal mudflats. Environmental Pollution. 176, 18-25.

Haverstock, S., Sizmur, T., Murimboh, J. and O’Driscoll, N.J. 2012 Modeling the photo-oxidation of dissolved organic matter by ultraviolet radiation in freshwater lakes: Implications for mercury bioavailability. Chemosphere. 88(10), 1220-1226

Sizmur, T., Wingate, J., Hutchings, T. and Hodson, M.E. 2011 Lumbricus terrestris L. does not impact on the remediation efficiency of compost and biochar amendments. Pedobiologia. 54S, S211-216.

Sizmur, T., Watts, M., Brown, G.D., Palumbo-Roe, B. and Hodson, M.E. 2011 Impact of gut passage and mucus secretion by Lumbricus terrestris on mobility and speciation of As in contaminated soil. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 197, 169-175.

Beesley, L., Moreno-Jimenez, E., Gomez-Eyles, J. Harris, E., Robinson, B. and Sizmur, T. 2011 A review of biochars’ potential role in the remediation, revegetation and restoration of contaminated soils. Environmental Pollution. 159, 3269-3282.

Sizmur, T., Palumbo-Roe, B. and Hodson, M.E. 2011 Impact of earthworms on trace element solubility in contaminated mine soils amended with green waste compost. Environmental Pollution. 159, 1852-1860.

Sizmur, T., Tilston, E.L., Charnock, J., Palumbo-Roe, B. Watts, M. and Hodson, M.E. 2011 Impacts of epigeic, anecic and endogeic earthworms on metal and metalloid mobility and availability. Journal of Environmental Monitoring.13, 266-273.

Sizmur, T., Palumbo-Roe, B. Watts, M. and Hodson, M.E. 2011 Impact of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris (L.) on As, Cu, Pb and Zn mobility and speciation in contaminated soils. Environmental Pollution. 159, 742-748.

Gomez-Eyles, J.L., Sizmur, T., Collins, C. and Hodson, M.E. 2011 Effects of biochar and Eisenia fetida on the bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and potentially toxic elements. Environmental Pollution. 159, 616-622.

Sizmur, T., Hodson, M.E., 2009. Do earthworms impact metal mobility and availability in soil? – A review. Environmental Pollution. 157, 1981-1989.

Sizmur, T., Hodson, M.E., 2008. Impact of Eisenia veneta on As, Cu, Pb, and Zn uptake by ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Mineralogical Magazine. 72, 495-499.

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