Abstract
The aim of the study was to compare the phytoextraction abilities of six tree species (Acer platanoides L., Acer pseudoplatanus L., Betula pendula Roth, Quercus robur L., Tilia cordata Miller, Ulmus laevis Pall.), cultivated on mining sludge contaminated with arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), thallium (Tl), and zinc (Zn). All six tree species were able to survive on such an unpromising substrate. However, A. platanoides and T. cordata seedlings grown on the polluted substrate showed significantly lower biomass than control plants (55.5 and 45.6%, respectively). As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Tl predominantly accumulated in the roots of all the analyzed tree species with the following highest contents: 1616, 268, 2432, 547, and 856 mg kg−1, respectively. Zn was predominantly localized in shoots with the highest content of 5801 and 5732 mg kg−1 for U. laevis and A. platanoides, respectively. A. platanoides was the most effective in Zn phytoextaction, with a bioconcentration factor (BCF) of 8.99 and a translocation factor (TF) of 1.5. Furthermore, with the exception of A. pseudoplatanus, the analyzed tree species showed a BCF > 1 for Tl, with the highest value for A. platanoides (1.41). However, the TF for this metal was lower than 1 in all the analyzed tree species. A. platanoides showed the highest BCF and a low TF and could, therefore, be a promising species for Tl phytostabilization. In the case of the other analyzed tree species, their potential for effective phytoextraction was markedly lower. Further studies on the use of A. platanoides in phytoremediation would be worth conducting.
Highlights
Landfill sites composed of hazardous wastes represent a significant environmental problem due to their harmful effect on humans, animals, and plants (Mukhacheva et al 2010; Shobier et al 2011)
After 90 days of growing on control soil or on sludge substrate, the total biomass of A. platanoides, A. pseudoplatanus, B. pendula, Q. robur, T. cordata, and U. laevis seedlings growing on mining sludge was significantly lower than in the control (55.5, 51.2, 69.3, 45.6, and 48.7% of the biomass of the control plants, respectively) (Fig. 1b)
58.1% for T. cordata, while for tree seedlings growing on mining sludge, it ranged from 5.1% for U. laevis to 32.1% for B. pendula, if compared with their total biomass before the experiment (Fig. 1c)
Summary
Landfill sites composed of hazardous wastes represent a significant environmental problem due to their harmful effect on humans, animals, and plants (Mukhacheva et al 2010; Shobier et al 2011). There are no simple methods for their management and/or limitation of their negative influence on living organisms (Favas et al 2011; Nanseu-Njiki et al 2009; Yakout et al 2016) For this reason, using biological processes such as phytoremediation may offer a chance to change their chemical characteristics and/or decrease toxic element concentrations (Salazar and Pignata 2014; Singh et al 2016). Phytoremediation as a green technology offers many ecological benefits for the environment, the long-lasting process (tens or even hundreds of years) still limits its practice (Mleczek et al 2013) For this reason, the selection of appropriate plant species is of fundamental importance. The most effective plant species are characterized by high efficiency in phytoextraction of elements, translocation to aerial parts, easy adaptation to the presence of pollutants, and relatively high biomass as well as simplified collection procedures for plant material after their growth
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