Evaluating trivalent chromium (CRIII) toxicity on wild terrestrial plants

Abstract

Elevated chromium levels in soil from mining can impact the environment, including plants. Extensive chromite-ore deposits have been discovered in the Ring of Fire region, thus mining may increase. Chromium toxicity on wild plants is poorly understood. Concentration-response experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of chromium on terrestrial plants. Using artificial soil, seeds of 32 species were exposed to chromium (CrIII) at concentrations (0-1000 mg/kg) simulating contamination levels.Many plants were not affected at low concentrations, yet higher concentrations were harmful to all species. Secondly, seedbank soils were collected in four habitats near the Ring of Fire and were exposed to chromium at equivalent concentrations as before. More seeds germinated from the lakeshore, with reductions in species/seedlings numbers as chromium increased. This was similar for the upland. This study represents the first step in understanding effects of chromium on plants and could form the basis for risk assessments.iii

Glutamic Acid-Assisted Phytomanagement of Chromium Contaminated Soil by Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): Morphophysiological and Biochemical Alterations

“…Generally, metals cannot be easily extracted from soil media in great quantities because they form complex bonds with ligands in the soil. Recent studies have shown that plants used for remediation accumulate larger amounts of heavy metals in their roots and then transfer them to aboveground biomass (Wei et al, 2011;Saleem et al, 2015;Lukina et al, 2016). This suggests that plants with greater biomass, such as mustard, rapeseed, maize and sunflower plants, can be beneficial in the field and can survive in the presence of toxic heavy metals (Cekic et al, 2017;Rizwan et al, 2017a).…”