In-situ phytoextraction of Ni by a native population of Alyssum murale on an ultramafic site (Albania)

Abstract

UltramaWc outcrops are widespread in Albania and host several Ni hyperaccumulators (e.g., Alyssum murale Waldst. & Kit.). A Weld experiment was conducted in Pojske (Eastern Albania), a large ultramaWc area in which native A. murale was cultivated. The experiment consisted in testing the phytoextraction potential of already installed natural vegetation (including A. murale) on crop Welds with or without suitable fertilisation. The area was divided into six 36-m 2 plots, three of which were fertilised in April 2005 with (NPK + S). The soil (Magnesic Hypereutric Vertisol) was fully described as well as the mineralogy of horizons and the localisation of Ni bearing phases (TEM-EDX and XRD). Ni availability was also characterised by Isotopic Exchange Kinetics (IEK). The Xora was fully described on both fertilised and unfertilised plots and the plant composition (major and trace elements) and biomass (shoots) harvested individually were recorded.The soil had mainly two Ni-bearing phases: highMg smectite (1.3% Ni) and serpentine (0.7% Ni), the Wrst one being the source of available Ni. Ni availability was extremely high according to IEK and conWrmed by Ni contents in Trifolium nigriscens Viv. reaching 1,442 mg kg ¡1 (A new hyperaccumulator?). Total biomass yields were 6.3 t ha ¡1 in fertilised plots and 3.2 t ha ¡1 in unfertilised plots with a highly signiWcant eVect: fertilisation increased dramatically the proportion of A. murale in the plots (2.6 t ha ¡1 vs. 0.2 t ha ¡1 ). Ni content in the shoots of A. murale reached 9,129 mg kg ¡1 but metal concentration was not signiWcantly aVected by fertilisation. Phytoextracted Ni in total harvest reached 25 kg Ni ha ¡1 on the fertilised plots. It was signiWcantly lower in unfertilised plots (3 kg Ni ha ¡1 ). Extensive phytomining on such sites could be promising in the Albanian context by domesticating already installed natural populations with fertilisation.

Growth and Micronutrient Concentration in Maize Plants Under Nickel and Lime Applications

“…Mazej and Germ (2009) Nickel toxicity levels may vary according to plant species, with toxic levels of nickel in plants ranging from 8 to 147 mg kg -1 (Gupta et al 2008). Sengar et al (2008) stated that, in general, nickel toxicity is expressed when the concentration in plant dry biomass is greater than 50 mg kg -1 , except for accumulating and hyperaccumulating species such as Alyssum murale (9,129 mg kg -1 ) (BANI et al, 2007). Paiva et al (2003) found that in the roots of ipe-purple seedlings, the maximum nickel level reached was 669.1 mg kg -1 at the 190.9 µmol L -1 nickel dose, this being 716% higher than the control treatment.…”

HYPERACCUMULATION OF NI BY ALYSSUM MURALE WALDST. & KIT. FROM ULTRAMAFICS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

“…In relation to the recent molecular, genetic and morphological evidence, from native populations, several species previously regarded as endemic hyperaccumulators can hardly be accepted as separate from A. murale, and we should treated all these taxa as synonyms of the species A. murale (Reeves et al, 2001;Hartvig, 2002;Whiting et al, 2003). A. murale is widespread in the serpentines in the Balkans and its accumulation potential is well documented in Serbia (Tumi et al, 2012) and, in particular, in Albania, Greece and Bulgaria (Bani et al, 2007; Given the importance of A. murale as a potental source for a phytomining and the fact that there are no data on hyperaccumulation characteristic of its native populations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor on the soil characteristics over a wide serpentinite area in this region, the aims of this study were: (a) to investigate soil chemical properties from several serpentine sites in central region of Bosnia and Herzegovina on which this species was recorded; (b) to investigate levels of accumulation and translocation of trace metals in plant tissues (roots, stems, and leaves), with a specific focus on Ni; and, (c) to estimate the potential use of local population for phytoextraction.…”

Chemical exploitation of metal contaminated biomass produced in phytoextraction

“…3, Table 8), such as anisole (entry 16), benzene (entries [13][14][15], chlorobenzene (entries 19-21), 1,4-dimethylbenzene (entry 17), 1,2-diethylbenzene (entry 18). The reaction was satisfactory with [19][20][21]. The benzylation of 1,4-dimethyl-and 1,2-diethylbenzene were carried out with good yields (entries 17 and 18).…”

“…Wide-scale development of phytoremediation requires agronomic skills: previous examples in Saint-Laurent-le-Minier, France showed that metal tolerant species could successfully prevent soil erosion [17]. In the case of nickel, previous studies showed that phytoextraction was possible with yields good enough to foresee commercial applications [18][19][20]. Latest studies on former mine sites in the South of France showed a very interesting potential [10,17] but zinc phytoextraction has not yet been subject to fi eld-scale trials.…”