Toxic metal tolerance in native plant species grown in a vanadium mining area

Abstract

Vanadium (V) has been extensively mined in China and caused soil pollution in mining area. It has toxic effects on plants, animals and humans, posing potential health risks to communities that farm and graze cattle adjacent to the mining area. To evaluate in situ phytoremediation potentials of native plants, V, chromium, copper and zinc concentrations in roots and shoots were measured and the bioaccumulation (BAF) and translocation (TF) efficiencies were calculated. The results showed that Setaria viridis accumulated greater than 1000 mg kg V in its shoots and exhibited TF > 1 for V, Cr, Zn and BAF > 1 for Cu. The V accumulation amount in the roots of Kochia scoparia also surpassed 1000 mg kg and showed TF > 1 for Zn. Chenopodium album had BAF > 1 for V and Zn and Daucus carota showed TF > 1 for Cu. Eleusine indica presented strong tolerance and high metal accumulations. S. viridis is practical for in situ phytoextractions of V, Cr and Zn and phytostabilisation of Cu in V mining area. Other species had low potential use as phytoremediation plant at multi-metal polluted sites, but showed relatively strong resistance to V, Cr, Cu and Zn toxicity, can be used to vegetate the contaminated soils and stabilise toxic metals in V mining area.

Accumulation of potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs) by native plant species growing in a typical gold mining area located in the northeast of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…These results con rm the phenomenon found by Barakan et al (2019) related to soils of a similar gold mine, which indicated that the discharge of the alkaline mine wastewater may cause the alkalinity of the soil and the release of As and other elements into the soil environment. Electrical conductivity (EC) can enhance PTE precipitation and complexation, decrease the mobility and bioavailability of PTEs, and consequently reduce PTE accumulation in plant tissues (Aihemaiti et al, 2017). However, our study found that soil EC had no marked effect on PTE accumulation in plant shoots (Table S1), probably due to the low soil EC in the investigated soils.…”

“…Among these plant species, G. pylzowianum, R. nepalensis, and S. tetraptera had relatively higher As concentrations in their shoots, even though these plants were found in the heavy Ascontaminated soil. The difference in As accumulation and distribution among the plant species are the result of complex interactions between chemical and biological factors (Aihemaiti et al, 2017). Meanwhile, As accumulation was found to be closely related to the soil As level.…”

“…Therefore, more studies are needed to identify potential PTE hyper-accumulators. Native plant species preferred for phytoremediation as they have strong resistance to an excess of PTEs from the contaminated sites and pose no ecological risk to the local ecosystem (Aihemaiti et al, 2017;Hasnaoui et al, 2020). Additionally, polluted sites with unique climates may not be suitable for the growth of exotic hyper-accumulator plants.…”

Rview of phytoremediation of soil contaminated by vanadium

“…Few vanadium (potential) hyperaccumulators have been screened out due to the poor vanadium transfer capability of the plant from its root to aboveground parts. Some potential vanadium hyperaccumulators, e.g., Setaria viridis [15] , Phaseolus vulgaris L. [16] , Thuja [17] , and Zea mays L [18] , etc., have been identified for their relatively strong resistance against vanadium stress and high vanadium accumulation in their bodies. In terms of phytostabilization, plants root can uptake and store large quantities of vanadium, though the low vanadium translocation capability from its roots to aerial organs.…”

Halophytic Grasses, a New Source of Nutraceuticals? A Review on Their Secondary Metabolites and Biological Activities

“…Due to their important ecological role related to the ability to cope with high concentrations of toxic ions as well as to the capacity to accumulate heavy metals present in the environment [12], studies have been dedicated to their potential as stabilizers and/or phytoextractors of heavy metal polluted soils [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40]. Nonetheless, their phytochemistry and biological activities have not been equally well investigated.…”