Identifying and evaluating the effectiveness of best management practices to mitigate mercury contamination in managed forests

加拿大拥有广阔的森林土地，森林管理构成了该国最重要的自然资源产业之一的基础。同时，森林自然地提供许多环境服务，例如提供清洁的水和帮助维持渔业。在采伐森林时，应遵循最佳管理规范，以帮助维持尽可能多的环境服务。然而，目前林业最佳管理做法在保护水道和水生生态系统免受汞污染方面的有效性，这是加拿大和全球的一个重要环境问题，实际上是未知的。虽然最近的研究指出森林采伐与水和水生生物的汞污染增加之间存在联系，但减少或消除这一问题的实地战略尚未得到系统的检验。在本战略伙伴关系提案中，我们将通过与森林公司伙伴和政府监管机构密切合作，解决这一缺乏研究和健全的科学缓解战略的问题，以便：1)研究不同的最佳管理做法战略如何影响汞的流动性、环境中使汞毒性更大的反应以及水生食物网中的积累；2)进行实地和实验室实验，以更好地理解最成功的最佳管理实践策略的机制；3)建立一个区域模型，帮助森林管理者根据自身情况选择最佳管理实践战略。汞问题远远超出了林业的范畴，但这项研究将为加拿大林业提供一个机会，展示其在防治汞污染方面的全球领导地位。这项工作对北方土著社区也特别重要，在那里，一些传统土地可能受到汞污染，并面临可持续森林管理的压力，但没有科学指导来负责任地进行。

Canada has vast forested lands, and forest management forms the basis of one of the country's most important natural resource industries. At the same time, forests naturally supply numerous environmental services, such as providing clean water and helping to sustain fisheries. When forests are harvested, Best Management Practices are followed to help sustain as many environmental services as possible. However, the effectiveness of current forestry Best Management Practices in protecting waterways and aquatic ecosystems from mercury contamination, an important environmental issue in Canada and globally, are practically unknown. While most recent research points to a link between forest harvesting and increased mercury contamination of water and aquatic organisms, field strategies for reducing or eliminating this problem have not been systematically tested. In this Strategic Partnership proposal, we will address this lack of research and sound science-based mitigation strategies by working closely with forest company partners and government regulators to: 1) examine how different Best Management Practice strategies affect mercury mobility, reactions in the environment that make mercury more toxic, and accumulation in aquatic food webs; 2) conduct field and laboratory experiments to better understand the mechanisms responsible for the most successful Best Management Practice strategies; and, 3) assemble a regional model that will assist forest managers in choosing the Best Management Practice strategies for their contexts. Mercury issues go well beyond the forestry industry, but this research will provide an opportunity for the Canadian forestry industry to demonstrate global leadership in combatting mercury pollution. This work is also particularly relevant for northern indigenous communities where some traditional lands may be both mercury-polluted and under pressure for sustainable forest management, but without the scientific direction to responsibly proceed.