The response of the freshwater microalga Chlorella vulgaris to mercuric ion (Hg2+) stress was examined using chlorophyll a fluorescence image analysis and O-J-I-P analysis as a way to monitor the toxic effects of mercury on water ecosystems. The levels of photosynthetic pigments, such as chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids, decreased with increasing Hg2+ concentration. The maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem Ⅱ(Fv/Fm) changed remarkably with increasing Hg2+ concentration and treatment time. In particular, above 200 μM Hg2+, considerable mercury toxicity was seen within 2 h. The chlorophyll a fluorescence transient O-J-I-P was also remarkably affected by Hg2+; the fluorescence emission decreased considerably in steps J, I, and P with an increase in Hg2+ concentration when treated for 4 h. Subsequently, the JIP-test parameters (Fm, Fv/Fo, RC/CS, TRo/CS, ETo/CS, ΦPO, ΨO and ΦEO) decreased with increasing Hg2+ concentration, while N, Sm, ABS/RC, DIo/RC and DIo/CS increased. Therefore, a useful biomarker for investigating mercury stress in water ecosystems, and the parameters Fm, ΦPO, ΨO, and RC/CS can be used to monitor the environmental stress in water ecosystems quantitatively.

Rare earth contents(REE) were analysed for the plants, M. sinensis, A. vulgaris and R. crataegitolius, from two different soils serpentine area consisting of serpentinite(SP) and non-serpentine area, containing amphibole schist(AS) of Gapyeong area, and were compared with soils and host rocks. The AS were high with the differences of several times in the top soils, and with the differences of several to ten times in the host rocks relative to the SP. In the same area, the SP were high in the soil, but the rocks for the AS. In the plants, the A. vulgaris were high, but low in the R. crataegitolius. Root parts were higher than the upper parts. Differences between the upper and root parts were big in the SP rather than the AS, and were big in the R. crataegitolius, but small in the M. sinensis. Among the parts of the plants, high elements were shown in the R. crataegitolius of the SP, and the A. vulgaris and M. sinensis of the AS. In the correlation coefficients, most of the REE showed positive relationships among the element pairs, especially high positive correlation coefficients in the upper parts of the SP. Differences of the soils and plants(average) were smalle in the M. sinensis and big in the R. crataegitolius. In the upper parts. contents of the A. vulgaris were close to the soils while the R. crataegitolius showed large discrepancies with the soils. In the root parts, contents of the A. vulgaris showed discrepancies with the soils regardless of soil types, but close in the R. crataegitolius of the SP and M. sinensis of the AS.