Abstract
Castor oil plant seeds ( Ricinus communis L.) were grown in spent lubricating oil (SLO) contaminated soil at concentrations of 1-6% (w/w, oil/soil). Plant height and stem girth were depressed by spent lubricating oil at concentrations of 2% (w/w) and above. One percent (1%) spent lubricating oil in soil promoted growth of plants when compared with control. Fresh and dry weights of R. communis plants grown in 1% oil treatment were significantly more than that of control. Spent lubricating oil in soil depressed pH. From the values obtained for metal concentrations in leaves, stems and roots, the concentrations of manganese and nickel were highest in the leaves. At 2% SLO and above, lead concentration was highest in the leaves too. Accumulation of the metals by plant parts were not concentration dependent. Specifically metal accumulation in R. communis , in the present study showed that Mn , Ni and Pb were mostly accumulated in the leaves; while V was highest in roots. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 10(3) 2006: 127-134
Highlights
Oil pollution of soil leads to the build up of essential and non-essential (Mn, Pb, Zn, Fe, Co, Cu) elements in soil and the eventual translocation in plant tissues
Metal Concentration in Soil and Plant Growth: The result of soil analysis obtained in this study showed increase in the concentration of Mn, Ni, Pb, and V in soil contaminated by spent lubricating oil (SLO)
This may have accounted for the reduction in mean pH values of soil which were below 5.28 and 4.76 for control (0% SLO) in distilled and 0.01M CaCl2 solution respectively (Table 3)
Summary
Oil pollution of soil leads to the build up of essential (organic carbon, P, Ca, Mg) and non-essential (Mn, Pb, Zn, Fe, Co, Cu) elements in soil and the eventual translocation in plant tissues. The pollution of soil by spent lubricating oil has been reported to cause growth retardation in plants (Anoliefo and Vwioko, 1995; Odjegba and Sadiq, 2002) This reduction in plant growth has been attributed to the presence of heavy metals at toxic concentrations in soil (Anoliefo and Vwioko,1995). Whismann et al (1974) observed that most heavy metals such as vanadium, lead, aluminium, nickel and iron, which were usually below detection in unused lubricating oil, gave high ppm values in used oil Elements such as Cu, Mo, Ni, Mn, Cl and Zn are essential for plant growth in low concentrations (Reeves and Baker, 2000). The plants act as diffuse samplers, accumulating pollutants to a higher concentration than their surroundings This is as a result of continuous absorption of minerals over time (Zurayk et al, 2001). To give suggestion on the physiological fates of the metals when R. communis is grown in spent lubricating oil (SLO) contaminated soil
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