Lithium [Li, 3]
185
Lithium occurs in all kinds of water, most often sorbed by colloids, in the form of
hydroxide, LiOH, and seldom as the simple ion Li + . Surface sediments of the Baltic
Sea contain Li within the range of <10–84 mg/kg (Szefer 2002).
In groundwater, Li concentrations vary from 0.05 to 150 μg/L (Matschullat 1997).
In some hot climatic regions, Li concentration may reach 15,000 μg/L. Water used
for irrigations, with Li contents in the range 5–100 μg/L, may be harmful to crop
plants.
Rainwater collected in Sweden contains Li at an average value 0.06 μg/L (Eriksson
2001a), whereas its highest concentration is given as 0.12 μg/L (Table 25.1). The
maximum Li concentration in rainwater from Kola Peninsula is 0.28 μg/L (Reimann
and de Caritat 1998).
Median Li concentration in bottled water of the EU countries is 14.9 μg/L, and
in tap water it is 2.07 μg/L (Birke et al. 2010). In drinking water of Germany, its
contents vary from 4.2 to 60 μg/L (Anke et al. 1995).
25.4 AIR
There is a paucity of data on Li in the atmosphere. Its content in air is associated with
the presence of dust particles, which are mostly fine granulometric soil particles.
Nevertheless, Li concentration in air of contaminated areas is significantly higher,
than in air of remote regions, where it does not exceed 1 ng/m 3 (Table 25.1). The wet
deposition of Li is estimated at 0.58 g/ha/yr (Eriksson 2001a).
Lithium concentration in moss is a good indicator for its contents in air. Moss
(Hylocomium splendens) growing in Norway, during 1990–1955, contained Li
within the range from 0.0027 to 2.6 mg/kg (average 0.22), and have not changed as
compared with Li contents in moss collected earlier (Berg and Steinnes 1997).
25.5 PLANTS
The soluble Li in soils is readily available to plants; therefore, the plant content of
this element is believed to be a good guide to the Li status of the soil. There are considerable differences in the tolerance of various plant species to Li concentrations,
as well as in the ability of plants to uptake this element. The index of the biological concentrations, based on the ratio of Li in plant and ash to Li in topsoil, varies
considerably for various plants, being the highest for the Rosaceae family (0.6), and
the lowest for the Polygonaceae family (0.04). The highest value of this index (0.8),
however, was calculated for plants of the Solanaceae family, which are known to
have the highest tolerance to Li. Some plants of this family, when grown in an aridic
climatic zone, accumulate Li more than 1000 mg/kg. The highest uptake of Li was
reported for plant species growing on Natric soils or other soils, having increased
contents of alkali metals. Among various native plants grown in the polluted area of
the Northern Europe (Kola Peninsula), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), containing
0.07 mg Li/kg, has a bit higher capacity to accumulate Li than other plants (Reimann
et al. 1999).
Lithium appears to share the K + transport carrier, and therefore is easily transported in plants, being located mainly in leaf tissues. Li contents of edible plant parts