Thirteen years after : dynamics of trace metals in free-ranging small mammals related to soil aging (2006-2019)

The lability of trace metals (TM) in the soil is time-dependent, and temporal changes in metals' state are known as "soil aging." However, there is no study assessing a long-term change in the environmental availability of metals and the effects of soil aging on the dynamics of bioaccumulation of TM in terrestrial wild mammals. This study aims to estimate whether and how soil aging affects the transfers of TM in terrestrial food webs. Based on long-term monitoring from 2006 to 2019 in metal-contaminated sites, we compared the temporal change in the availability of TM in the soil to temporal trends of TMs in small mammals' tissues.