Environmental context. Mosses and lichens are widely distributed in montane forests and their important role in global biogeochemical cycles has been increasingly recognised. This study of mercury accumulation and sources in mosses and lichens, using mercury isotopic data, provides evidence that they promote atmospheric mercury deposition in these forests, which is an important function that should be incorporated into current mercury mass balance budgets for forests.

Environmental context. With the rapid pace of industrialisation and urbanisation, soil contamination by organic pollutants has become a global focus of concern due to its serious threat to ecosystems and human health. Although a myriad of synthetic catalysts have been developed, natural minerals have the potential to be developed into cost-effective, environmentally benign and efficient catalysts to decontaminate soil. The efficient performance of natural minerals demonstrated in this study indicates a potential for their utilisation in the removal of refractory organic pollutants in soil.

Environmental context. Naturally occurring arsenic was the likely cause of endemic black foot disease in groundwaters in Taiwan, and levels still exceed Taiwan EPA water quality standards. A method for the clean-up of these groundwaters that is both feasible and environmentally friendly is urgently needed. Oxidation of As(III) as H₃AsO₃ to the less toxic As(V)⁻ and removal of As in groundwater was performed quantitatively by electrosorption using materials derived from agricultural wastes; this shows that this method has the potential to be a novel, green remediation method.