Calotropis procera: um levantamento preliminar sobre as suas capacidades de fitoextração no Brasil

Newton P.U Barbosa,Geraldo Wilson Fernandes,Maria Ângela De B.C Menezes,Maria Aparecida Da Silva,Maria Aparecida Da Silva,Rômulo S.C Menezes,Ludmila V.S Matos,Jarcilene S Almeida-Cortez,George Uemura,Ludmila V.S Matos,Maria Ângela De B.C Menezes,George Uemura

doi:10.4013/nbc.2013.83.05

Abstract

Calotropis procera (Apocynaceae) is a non-native species that has its origin in Africa and Asia, but was introduced into the northeastern region of Brazil in the beginning of last century. In some areas, the dry biomass of C. procera is used as animal feed. However, previous studies indicated that the species is capable of accumulating many chemical elements. On the other hand, it could also mean that this species may be used for phytoremediation. Hence, we used neutron activation analysis, k0-method, to test the capability of the leaves of C. procera to accumulate trace elements. The study was carried out in two distinct areas (polluted and non-polluted) in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Our results indicate that new elements can be added to the list of elements taken up by C. procera, thus contributing to the understanding of the biology of this plant species as an accumulator of trace elements. Some elements, such as Ba and Sr, have higher concentrations in the non-polluted areas than in polluted areas. Thus, the presence of many trace elements in C. procera indicates that its use as animal feed should be viewed with extreme caution. However low levels of these trace elements in C. procera do not indicate that this species is a hyper-accumulator plant.Key words: phytoremediation, biological invasion, invasive species, Pernambuco.

Highlights

Calotropis procera represents a highly invasive species that has reached the status of weed in many regions
In this study we investigated whether C. procera can absorb trace elements from soil, in polluted and non-polluted sites of Pernambuco State, Brazil, applying a non-destructive analytical technique
For the first time it has been shown that leaves of C. procera can absorb Ba, Br, Cs, La, Sc, Sm, Sr, Ta and Th (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Calotropis procera is native to the arid regions of tropical Africa, India and Middle East (Brandes, 2005). This species has the capacity to successfully establish in arid, degraded, and nutrient poor soils, such as those found along roadsides, pastures, and abandoned areas (Ferreira, 1973; Kissmann and Groth, 1992; Colombo et al, 2007). In some arid regions of Brazil the use of C. procera as animal feed (e.g., Melo et al, 2001) has been encouraged by some research institutions. The aim of this work was to verify which elements C. procera is capable of absorbing, allowing its use in phytoremediation activities. We highlight the need to take care about the use of this species as animal feed

Objectives

Methods

Results