Abstract
Soil pollution by highly toxic metals (such as lead, Pb) derived from human activities has become a serious problem in recent years. Phytoremediation is a technique that uses plants or microorganisms to remedy such toxicity from contaminated soils and water. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the legume Crotalaria juncea as a phytoremediator of lead-contaminated soils. We evaluated plant growth and lead content in the soil andin C. juncea’s leaves and roots. Three treatments with varying concentrations of lead in the soil were evaluated: 0 mg kg-1 (control), 250 mg kg-1, and 500 mg kg-1. Plant growth and plant physical aspects were quantified. Metal concentration in the soil, leaves, and roots was assessed by atomic absorption spectrometry. The species had a survival rate of 100%. The highest content of lead was found in the plants’ roots. Plant growth did not differ significantly among the three treatments, leaf lead concentration did. Crotalaria juncea has potential for lead phytoremediator. In addition, it is a tolerant vegetal and hyperaccumulator of Pb, mainly in the roots, and due to these characteristics its potential for phytoextraction of this metal under field conditions should be evaluated.
Highlights
The soil suffers direct and indirect impacts from anthropogenic activities, including heavy metal, chemical product, andoil spills, which harm the environment and human populations (Heiderscheidt, Pereira, Burghardt, & Oliveira, 2016)
This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of Crotalaria juncea as a phytoremediator of lead-contaminated soils by assessing its growth and lead content in leaves, roots and soil
Crotalaria juncea plants had a survival rate of 100%, i.e., no plants died throughout the 110 days trial
Summary
The soil suffers direct and indirect impacts from anthropogenic activities, including heavy metal, chemical product, andoil spills, which harm the environment and human populations (Heiderscheidt, Pereira, Burghardt, & Oliveira, 2016). This type of contamination threatens human health, reduces water quality, and limits soil use in affected areas. Agricultural productivity is significantly reduced on heavy metal contaminated soils and, alarmingly, when absorbed by plants, these elements may enter the food chain (Nascimento et al, 2015). Lead (Pb) stands out among heavy metal soil contaminants (Souza et al, 2016). A lot of effort has been made in recent years on the development of soil remediation techniques to minimize lead contamination impacts (Gabos, Abreu, & Coscione, 2009; Ribeiro, 2015)
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