Plants from the abandoned Nacozari mine tailings: evaluation of their phytostabilization potential

Abstract

Phytostabilization is a remediation technology that uses plants for in-situ stabilization of contamination in soils and mine tailings. The objective of this study was to identify native plant species with potential for phytostabilization of the abandoned mine tailings in Nacozari, Sonora in northern Mexico. A flora of 42 species in 16 families of angiosperms was recorded on the tailings site and the abundance of the most common perennial species was estimated. Four of the five abundant perennial species showed evidence of regeneration: the ability to reproduce and establish new seedlings. A comparison of selected physicochemical properties of the tailings in vegetated patches with adjacent barren areas suggests that pH, electrical conductivity, texture, and concentration of potentially toxic elements do not limit plant distribution. For the most abundant species, the accumulation factor for most metals was <1, with the exception of Zn in two species. A short-term experiment on adaptation revealed limited evidence for the formation of local ecotypes in Prosopis velutina and Amaranthus watsonii. Overall, the results of this study indicate that five native plant species might have potential for phytostabilization of the Nacozari tailings and that seed could be collected locally to revegetate the site. More broadly, this study provides a methodology that can be used to identify native plants and evaluate their phytostabilization potential for similar mine tailings.

Streptomyces Dominate the Soil Under Betula Trees That Have Naturally Colonized a Red Gypsum Landfill

“…The large amount of Fe and Mn, mostly in oxide forms (Carbonell, unpublished data), may also limit the availability of nutrients at this whole area. Previous studies were carried out on the interactions between plant richness and the physicochemical properties of tailings dumps and have identified pH, metal concentration and bioavailability as the major factors that may limit plant establishment on these sites ( Santos et al, 2017 ).…”

Ecological Potential of Plants for Phytoremediation and Ecorestoration of Fly Ash Deposits and Mine Wastes

“…Plant species that have high capacity to grow and survive in mining areas are Agrostis stolonifera, Calamagrostis epigejos, Cerastium arvense, Polygonum aviculare, and Tussilago farfara in flotation tailings from Cu ore in Poland (Kasowska et al, 2018); Agrostis capillaries, Rumex acetosella, Vicia hirsute, Apera spica-venti, Chenopodium botrys, Xantium italicum, Equisetum palustre, Persicaria lapathifolia, Vulpia myuros, Polygonum lapathifolia, Betula pendula, Populus tremula, Populus alba, and Populus nigra in in Timok River floodplain that are partially damaged by slurry sulphidic waste from Cu mine in Bor in Serbia (Nikolić et al, 2014(Nikolić et al, , 2016; Agrostis stolonifera, Epilobium dodonaei, Calamagrostis epigejos, and Centaurea arenaria on non-reclaimed overburden sites, Robinia pseudoacacia, Cirsium eriophorum, Festuca valeisaca, Linaria genistifolia, Taraxacum offinale, Convolvulus arvensis, Achillea millefolium, Vicia cracca, Daucus carota, Centaurea stoebe Poa pratensis, and Rumex crispus on reclaimed overburden in Cu mine in Bor in Serbia (Randjelović et al, 2014(Randjelović et al, , 2016; Dittrichia viscosa, Cistus salviifolius and Euphorbia pithyusa in mining tailings in Sardinia (Jimenez et al, 2011); Digitalis purpurea, Mentha suavolens, and Ruscus ulmifolius in abandoned Pb mine in Portugal (Pratas et al, 2013); Zygophyllum fabago, Helichrysum decumbens, Tamarix, Lygeum spartum, Piptatherum miliaceum, Pinus halepensis, Tetraclinis articulate in Cartagena-La Union mining district, Spain (Conesa et al, 2006;Parraga-Aguado et al, 2014); Coincya monensis, Agrostis durieui, Holcus lanatus, Festuca rubra, Dactylis glomerata, Cytisus striatus, Genista legionensis, Lotus corniculatus in Pb-Zn and Hg-As mining waste in Spain (Fernandez et al, 2017); Pistacia, terebinhtus, Cistus creticus, Pinus brutia, and Bosea cypria in Cu containing mine tailings in Cyprus (Johansson et al, 2005); Ricinus communis in mine tailings, Mexico (Ruiz Olivares et al, 2013); Amaranthus watsonii, Solanum lumholtyianum, Bromus catharticus, Acacia farnesiana, Gnaphalium leucocephalum, Brickellia coulteri, Baccharis sarothoides, Prosopis velutina, Boerhavia coulteri from abandoned mine tailings, Sonora, Mexico (Santos et al, 2017); Salsola collina, Festuca elata, Medicago sativa, Ipomea purpurea, Grewia biloba, Cotinus coggygria, Zizipus jujube, Vitex negundo, Bidens parvifloa, Sonchus oleraceus, Artemisia annua and Carex tristachya on soilrock mixture in abandoned mines in Beijing in China (Zhang et al, 2014); Digitaria sanguinalis, Erigeron canadensis, Phytolaca acinosa, Pteris multifida, Cynodon dactylon, and Melastoma dodecandrum in Mn mineland in China (Li et al, 2007) (Table 2).…”

Metal and Metalloid Toxicity in Plants: An Overview on Molecular Aspects

“…In fact, in Mexico, mining has been a very profitable commodity since colonial times; the country is still the top producer of silver along with other metals of economic importance such as gold, copper, and lead, among others [ 7 ]. Important research has been done to analyze endemic, native, and invasive plants that can adapt to the conditions found in mine tailings, for example, the high concentration of copper found in ancient mining sites in Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico [ 8 ].…”