Mercury in the fairy-ring of Gymnopus erythropus (Pers.) and Marasmius dryophilus (Bull.) P. Karst. mushrooms from the Gongga Mountain, Eastern Tibetan Plateau

• Hg showed variable distribution in mushrooms of fairy-ring.
• Litter feeding mushrooms from Mt. Gongga showed elevated Hg burden.
• Hg in ‘circum-polar’ region of Gongga seems to be from airborne depositions.
• Content and source of Hg in mushrooms from Gongga Mt. requires further study.

Gongga Mountain or Minya Konka, like the Himalayan Dimension Mountains, has its own microclimate and a ‘circum-polar’ climate and hence is sensitive to contamination by persistent pollutants that are trapped by cold temperature and wet precipitation. Elemental mercury (Hg) as vapour easy diffuses into the atmosphere and the rate of Hg deposition from global fallout is dependent on locally ambient temperature and precipitation. We investigated the accumulation and distribution of total Hg in two species of mushrooms, Gymnopus erythropus and Marasmius dryophilus, which grew on Gongga Mountain. The fruiting bodies were collected at a height of 2946 m above see level. Both species efficiently accumulated Hg. The median values for caps of M. dryophilus and G. erythropus were 1.168 and 3.078, and for stipes 0.573 and 1.636 mg/kg dry matter, respectively, and in the beneath litter and soil were 0.13 and 0.15 mg/kg dry matter. The Hg contents of the caps of M. dryophilus and the beneath litter and soils from pristine Himalayan forest of 1.168, 0.132 and 0.116 mg/kg dry matter (respectively) is high compared to values reported for similar species and soils from background areas in Poland −0.58–0.70 and 0.047–0.048 mg/kg dry matter. The absence of industrial activities, urbanization and Hg ore deposits at Gongga Mountain suggests that long-range atmospheric transport and subsequent deposition is the major source of elevated Hg observed in the mushrooms, litter and surface layer of soils in the outskirts of Gongga Mountain maritime glacier that has a peak of 7556 m above sea level.