Vegetative Growth and Trace Metal Accumulation on Metalliferous Wastes

Abstract

A greenhouse study was conducted to investigate the growth of the grass cover crops Agrostis capillaris, Festuca ovina, F. rubra, Lolium perenne, and Phleum pratense and their accumulation of Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, and Cr in three metal‐contaminated wastes arising from a steelworks, a lead mine, and a chemical works. Soil metals were extracted by five reagents (Mehlich 1, 0.1 M HCl, 0.005 M DTPA, 0.005 M EDTA, 0.005 M NTA) and values were correlated with plant tissue accumulation of metals. Agrostis capillaris accumulated the greatest concentration of metals from each waste material. Dry matter production for all grasses decreased on contaminated substrates compared to the control; however, overall ground cover was satisfactory except for A. capillaris on the chemical works waste. Lolium perenne and P. pratense consistently produced the highest dry matter yields. All grasses accumulated excessive amounts of Cr on the chemical waste and Pb on the mine waste, presumably from reservoirs in the readily extractable and soluble forms. The extractability of most metals was generally 0.1 M HCl > Mehlich 1 > DTPA = EDTA = NTA. Mehlich 1 did not appreciably extract Pb from two wastes. No extractant was able to represent metal uptake by a particular grass in a linear fashion.

Metal concentration in plant tissues of <i>Ricinus communis</i> L. (Castor oil) grown in soil contaminated with spent lubricating oil

“…For 2-6% SLO in soil, the highest concentration of Pb in tissue was obtained in leaves (Figure 3). This was contrary to reports by Pichtel et al, (2000) and Pichtel and Salt (1998). The data obtained in this study showed that at SLO concentration greater than 1%, there was translocation of Pb from the roots to the leaves.…”

Increase of multi-metal tolerance of three leguminous plants by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization

“…An important part of China's sus-tainable development strategy is the ecological restoration of contaminated soils, especially those contaminated by mine tailings (Gao et al 1998), and re-vegetation is a key measure in this restoration (TordoV et al 2000;Wong 2003). However, plant establishment and growth in metal-contaminated sites are inhibited by adverse soil factors, such as acidity, poor physical structure, toxic metals, and nutrient deWciencies (Pichtel and Salt 1998;Wong 2003).…”

Growth and metal accumulation in vetiver and two Sesbania species on lead/zinc mine tailings

“…A good vegetation cover is beneficial in the restoration of contaminated land and results in enhanced amenity values as well as prevention of surface soil erosion (Baker et al, 1994). However, adverse factors such as acidity, nutrient deficiencies, toxic heavy metal ions, and poor physical structure, and their interactions of most mine tailings inhibit plant establishment and growth on the tailings (Pichtel and Salt, 1998). The toxicity of heavy metals and deficiency of major nutrients are often the limiting factors for plant establishment on mine tailings, therefore, the success of reclamation schemes should overcome the two major problems (Bradshaw, 1987).…”