Kinetic speciation and bioavailability of copper and nickel in mangrove sediments.

An attempt was made to establish a mechanistic linkage between chemical speciation of copper and nickel, and their bioavailability in mangrove ecosystem. Kinetic speciation study was performed to determine the concentrations of labile metal-complexes and their dissociation rate constants in mangrove sediments. Concentrations of copper and nickel in the mangrove roots were used as indicators of their bioavailability. It was found that the bioaccumulation of both the metals gradually increased with the increasing concentrations of the labile metal complexes and their dissociation rate constants in the mangrove sediments. This study shows that concentration of labile metal (copper and nickel) complexes and their dissociation rate constants in mangrove sediment can be a good indicator of their bioavailability.