Abstract: By using cold vapor atomic fluorescence technique, the mercury (Hg) contents in the original and weathered coal mine spoils in Panxian of Guizhou Province, and in the plants growing on the soils from the weathered coal mine spoils were measured, aimed to reveal the distribution patterns of Hg in the spoils and the environmental effects of the Hg in study area. The total Hg content in the original coal mine spoils was averagely （0.137±0.076） μg·g^-1, with no abnormal enrichment, and that in weathered coal mine spoils was averagely （0.154±0.056） μg·g^-1, without any changes with weathering degree. The total Hg content in the weathered coal mine spoils was slightly higher than that in the background soils. In the soils from weathered coal mine spoils with spontaneous combustion and in the deeper soil layers affected by leaching, Hg had an abnormal enrichment, with its total content reached to （1.627±0.294） μg·g^-1. The soils from weathered coal mine spoils, especially from those with spontaneous combustion, had high levels of available Hg, and thus, the Hg content of some plants growing on these soils exceeded the national standard.

Key words: Stipa grandis steppe, Scarabaeoidea larvae community, Biodiversity