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Arsenic and Heavy Metal Uptake and Accumulation in Native Plant Species from Soils Polluted by Mining Activities

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Abstract

Arsenic and heavy metal (specifically Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) uptake, translocation, and accumulation in ten native plant species spontaneously growing in soils polluted by mining activities were studied, with a focus on future phytoremediation work in polluted soils. Plant and soil samples were collected in the vicinity of the Mónica mine (NW Madrid, Spain). Soil analysis showed the ability of native plants for growing in soils with high concentration levels of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and especially As. From these elements, the highest percentage of extractable elements was found for Cd and the lowest for Pb. A highly significant correlation was observed between total and extractable element concentrations in soils, except for Cu, indicating that total concentration is the most relevant factor for element mobility in these soils. Extractable elements in soils were better correlated with concentrations in plants than total elements in soils; thus, extraction methods applied are suitable to estimate the element phytoavailable fraction in soils, which depends on the plant species and not only on the element mobility in soils. High element concentrations were found in the aboveground parts of Corrigiola telephiifolia (As and Pb), Jasione montana (Cd and Zn), and Digitalis thapsi (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn). However, considering the translocation and accumulation factors, together with the concentration levels found in roots and aboveground parts, only C. telephiifolia could be considered a Pb accumulator and an As hyperaccumulator plant, which could be used for future phytoremediation work in soils polluted with As.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (project 188/Q065815-146) and Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (project CTM2007-66432). The authors are grateful to Dr. Pastor Piñeiro and Dr. Gonzaga García-Montero, for helping in the collection and identification of plant samples, and to Dr. Luis Jordá Bordehore and Mr. Rafael Jordá Bordehore for information on the mine site, as well as to the Excelentísimo Ayuntamiento de Bustarviejo for admittance to the mine zone and the facilities offered.

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  1. Departamento de Ingeniería Civil: Tecnología Hidráulica y Energética, Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica de Obras Públicas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Alfonso XII 3 y 5, 28014, Madrid, Spain

    Sara García-Salgado, David García-Casillas, Ma. Angeles Quijano-Nieto & Ma. Milagros Bonilla-Simón

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  1. Sara García-Salgado
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  2. David García-Casillas
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  4. Ma. Milagros Bonilla-Simón
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Correspondence to Ma. Angeles Quijano-Nieto.

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García-Salgado, S., García-Casillas, D., Quijano-Nieto, M.A. et al. Arsenic and Heavy Metal Uptake and Accumulation in Native Plant Species from Soils Polluted by Mining Activities. Water Air Soil Pollut 223, 559–572 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-011-0882-x

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