Abstract
To evaluate the potential of barley for the phytoremediation of soils contaminated by metals, we conducted a growth chamber experiment with plants exposed to various concentrations of Zn, Cd and Cr. Growth parameters, chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured at 15 and 29 days after treatment application, and the metal concentration in the aerial part of the plant, the root and the soil was also measured. In all cases, the amount of metal accumulated in the plant increased by increasing the concentration of the applied metal, and the roots accumulated more metal than did the aerial part of the plant. The amount of Cr found in the soil was significantly lower than that of Cd and Zn. The toxic effect of Zn and Cd on the plant was low, affecting growth only at the highest concentrations. For Zn and Cd at the concentrations used, the decrease in water content was 14% compared with the control and 26% for Cr. For plants treated with the highest metal concentrations, the most significant differences were found in chlorophyll content, which had the lowest values compared with the control (23% for Zn, and 42% for Cd and Cr), and in chlorophyll fluorescence (2% for Zn, 23% for Cd and 29% for Cr). These decreases occurred 29 days after applying the Zn and Cd treatments. In plants treated with Cr, the decrease occurred 15 days after treatment application. Under our experimental conditions, barley is more tolerant to Zn and Cd than to Cr.
Highlights
Heavy metal contamination of soils is a serious environmental problem because excessive metal concentrations pose risks to the health of humans, animals and plants.Certain metals are necessary for the growth and development of plants, but a number of these metals are highly toxic at high concentrations, resulting in growth inhibition and toxicity symptoms
In the Cd treatment, control plant growth for this period was 18%, which was somewhat higher than that of the treatments, which was between 17% and 11%, with the latter corresponding to T4
DW, which integrates all stages of plant growth, was significantly lower in plants treated with Cr, indicating that Cr affected plant growth more than Zn and Cd
Summary
Heavy metal contamination of soils is a serious environmental problem because excessive metal concentrations pose risks to the health of humans, animals and plants.Certain metals are necessary for the growth and development of plants, but a number of these metals are highly toxic at high concentrations, resulting in growth inhibition and toxicity symptoms. Metals and metalloids are toxic elements naturally present in the soil or added to the soil through various anthropogenic activities. Important sources of these elements include atmospheric deposition from mining activities, phosphate fertilizer and manure, sewage, urban compost and industrial sludge [1]. Due to the high persistence and potential toxicity of metals, soils contaminated with these elements are an environmental problem that requires effective and affordable solutions [2]. In this sense, phytoextraction, proposed by Chaney [3], is a viable technology for cleaning contaminated soils that has received increased consideration by scientists in recent years. The success of the extraction process depends on the ability of the selected plants to grow and accumulate metals under the specific climate and soil conditions of the site requiring remediation
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