Abstract
Being adapted to saline environments, halophytes are plant species that have received considerable attention due to their ability to cope with environmental stress factors, such as high concentrations of soluble salts and heavy metals. In this work, we focused on determining if the Sarcocornia neei (S. neei) plant can be considered as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in soil. This was done by analyzing the concentration of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and arsenic (As) in plants and soil sampled from two wetlands in the central zone of Chile: a wetland contaminated by industrial activities and a wetland protected by the Chilean government. In addition, 14 fertility parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sodium (Na), Pb, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and boron (B)) were analyzed for soil samples in both wetlands. This was done to differentiate between available elements and contamination by heavy metals. Plant and soil samples in the contaminated wetland exhibited significantly higher heavy metal concentrations in comparison to samples analyzed from the protected wetland. This indicates that the S. neei plant can be further researched as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in saline soils and possibly for phytoremediation purposes.
Highlights
Coastal wetlands are extremely sensitive ecosystems that represent the interface between terrestrial and marine environments
This work presents a comparison of heavy metal concentrations of S. neei in two coastal wetlands located in Central Chile
We based our study on samples of the soil and plants and obtained fertility parameter concentrations in the soil and values of heavy metals in the S. neei plant
Summary
Coastal wetlands are extremely sensitive ecosystems that represent the interface between terrestrial and marine environments. Wetlands are recognized for being an integral part of larger landscapes and for providing ecosystem services of great importance. Some of these are the retention and removal of nutrients, carbon sequestration, provision and remediation of water quality, etc. In the central zone of Chile, there exists a wetland system with more than 20 wetlands, and these wetlands have different types of hydrology and land use. Some of these wetlands present similar vegetation, where the native plant species Sarcocornia neei (S. neei), which does not have conservation problems, is found. S. neei is presented as a halophytic meadow plant that reaches coverings of
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