Trace metal retention in mangrove ecosystems in Guanabara Bay, SE Brazil.

Along contrasting environmental conditions (e.g., degree of trace metal contamination and mangrove forest structural development), sediments of Laguncularia racemosa-dominated mangrove stands in Guanabara Bay (SE Brazil) presented a trend of trace metal accumulation in forms with low potential of remobilization and biotic uptake. Concurrently, a relatively low transfer of sediment-bound metals to L. racemosa leaves was observed, which may moderate the metal export from the forests via leaf litter transport and the metal availability to enter in food chains based on leaf consumption.