Screening of Native Plants Growing on a Pb/Zn Mining Area in Eastern Morocco: Perspectives for Phytoremediation

Abstract

Screening of native plant species from mining sites can lead to identify suitable plants for phytoremediation approaches. In this study, we assayed heavy metals tolerance and accumulation in native and dominant plants growing on abandoned Pb/Zn mining site in eastern Morocco. Soil samples and native plants were collected and analyzed for As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Sb, Pb, and Zn concentrations. Bioconcentration factor (BCF), translocation factor (TF), and biological accumulation coefficient (BAC) were determined for each element. Our results showed that soils present low organic matter content combined with high levels of heavy metals especially Pb and Zn due to past extraction activities. Native and dominant plants sampled in these areas were classified into 14 species and eight families. Principal components analysis separated Artemisia herba-alba with high concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, and Pb in shoots from other species. Four plant species, namely, Reseda alba, Cistus libanotis, Stipa tenacissima, and Artemisia herba-alba showed strong capacity to tolerate and hyperaccumulate heavy metals, especially Pb, in their tissues. According to BCF, TF, and BAC, these plant species could be used as effective plants for Pb phytoextraction. Stipa tenacissima and Artemisia herba-alba are better suited for phytostabilization of Cd/Cu and Cu/Zn, respectively. Our study shows that several spontaneous and native plants growing on Pb/Zn contaminated sites have a good potential for developing heavy metals phytoremediation strategies.

Monitoring Potentially Toxic Element Pollution in Three Wheat-Grown Areas with a Long History of Industrial Activity and Assessment of Their Effect on Human Health in Central Greece

“…The soil-to-plant transfer coefficient (TC) is a useful index showing the mobility of the studied PTEs to be absorbed by a test plant/crop. Hasnaoui et al [46] measured PTE concentrations in native plants grown in a mining area, and reported a TC for Zn (in aerial tissues) equal to 190 (per mille), lower than our Zn TC values reported for Eretria (260) and Domokos (470). In the same industrial area of Volos as studied here, Antoniadis et al [21] measured the TC values of maize and found that Mn in maize shoots were higher than the value in our work (95.3 vs. 52.1) and the Mn TC in grains lower than that in our work (6.58 vs. 47.5).…”

Ex situ phytoremediation trial of Sardinian mine waste using a pioneer plant species

“…In order to achieve this purpose, it is necessary to select the best performing plant species with a special focus on native taxa. Owing this issue, several reasons promote the implementation of autochthonous plants over non-native species: (i) they are adapted to local climate/adverse conditions (Pandey and Singh 2012 ; El Hasnaoui et al 2020 ) and are stronger in terms of growth, survival, and reproduction under environmental stress (Midhat et al 2017 ); (ii) their use can preserve the plant diversity of the natural territories (Cao et al 2009 ; Bacchetta et al 2012 , 2015 ; Concas et al 2015a ); (iii) they help to start the rehabilitation of vegetational dynamics by the improvement of the physical-chemical properties of the substrates (Vacca 2000 ; Vacca et al 2017 ), and (iv) they help to the establishment of a long-term plant canopy on mine wastes with a relatively low cost inputs and limited maintenance (Bacchetta et al 2007a ; Pandey et al 2015 ; Monaci et al 2020 ; Zine et al 2020 ). All these points are pieces of a more holistic and sustainable approach in phytoremediation (Pandey et al 2015 ; Pandey and Omesh Bajpai 2019 ).…”

Vegetation and Environmental Changes on Contaminated Soil Formed on Waste from an Historic Zn-Pb Ore-Washing Plant

“…Mining and metallurgy of Zn-Pb ores in the 19th and 20th centuries has had a major impact on the natural environment in Europe. On sites where zinc, lead, copper, tin, and other metal ores are mined and processed, the most significant environmental problem is potentially toxic metals contamination of soil and water and their transfer to biotic environments [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Mining and the associated post-mining landscape constitute an ecological niche [ 4 , 5 ], where a particular succession of vegetation develops on Zn-, Pb-, Cd-, As-, and Fe-rich soils [ 6 ].…”

“…Mining and the associated post-mining landscape constitute an ecological niche [ 4 , 5 ], where a particular succession of vegetation develops on Zn-, Pb-, Cd-, As-, and Fe-rich soils [ 6 ]. Botanical and pedological studies in areas affected by Zn-Pb-Fe ore mining have been conducted in Belgium [ 7 ], Germany [ 8 ], Spain [ 9 ], Slovenia [ 10 , 11 ], China [ 12 , 13 , 14 ], Morocco [ 3 , 15 ], and southern Poland [ 6 ].…”