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Is metal hyperaccumulation occurring in ultramafic vegetation of central and southern Mexico?

  • Special Feature
  • Ultramafic Ecosystems: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Serpentine Ecology
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

In Mexico, ultramafic complexes are present in different regions from the northwest (Baja California Norte) to the southeast (Chiapas). In this paper, we present the results of the exploration of three ultramafic (serpentine) habitats in central and southern Mexico: Cuicatlán–Concepción Pápalo (Oaxaca), Tehuitzingo–Tecomatlán (Puebla), and San Juan de Otates (Guanajuato). Previous geology studies showed that these complexes are mainly made up of serpentinized peridotites. Soil analyses demonstrated typical ultramafic characteristics such as high content of Mg in relation to Ca, and high concentrations of Fe, Cr, Co, and Ni. Soil samples from Oaxaca and Puebla had similar Ni contents around 2300 mg kg−1, while samples of Guanajuato showed the lowest Ni levels with an average of 200 mg kg−1 as well as for other metals such as Co, Cr, Mn, and Zn. During this study, 83 plant specimens were collected, of which 52 were identified at genus level and 40 at species level. The collected plants belong to 19 different families such as Anacardiaceae, Fabaceae, Acanthaceae, Asteraceae, Sterculiaceae, and Verbenaceae which are also widely present in other ultramafic areas in Iran, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Costa Rica. Only two Mexican endemic species are included in the collection. Ni hyperaccumulators were not detected at any of the studied sites. Therefore, hyperaccumulation, as a tolerance mechanism of the flora in response to ultramafic geochemical stress, does not seem to be developed in Central Mexico, as observed in the close Costa Rican site of Santa Elena.

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Fig. 1

(modified of Ortiz-Hernández et al. 2006)

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all the technicians of MEXU herbarium for their valuable service in plant identification, to Lucy Mora, and Javier Toledo at UNAM University for their timely support to conclude the chemical analysis of all the samples collected during the research. And also, the authors convey their sincere gratitude to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) in Mexico and to the French National Research Agency, reference ANR-10-LABX-21 - LABEX RESSOURCES21 for their monetary and technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Sols et Environnement, Université de Lorraine-INRA, 2 Avenue de la Forêt de Haye, BP 20163, 54505, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex, France

    Dulce Montserrat Navarrete Gutiérrez & Guillaume Echevarria

  2. Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des Procédés, Université de Lorraine-CNRS, 1 rue Grandville, BP 20451, 54001, Nancy Cedex, France

    Marie-Noëlle Pons

  3. Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Km 38.5 Carretera México-Texcoco, 56230, Texcoco de Mora, Mexico, Mexico

    Jesús Axayacatl Cuevas Sánchez

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  1. Dulce Montserrat Navarrete Gutiérrez
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  2. Marie-Noëlle Pons
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  3. Jesús Axayacatl Cuevas Sánchez
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  4. Guillaume Echevarria
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Correspondence to Dulce Montserrat Navarrete Gutiérrez.

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Navarrete Gutiérrez, D.M., Pons, MN., Cuevas Sánchez, J.A. et al. Is metal hyperaccumulation occurring in ultramafic vegetation of central and southern Mexico?. Ecol Res 33, 641–649 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-018-1574-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-018-1574-4

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