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Evaluation of the Potential of Salt Marsh Plants for Metal Phytoremediation in Estuarine Environment

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Heavy Metal Stress in Plants

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Abstract

Constant discharge of pollutants into the environment, namely at salt marshes, poses a serious problem. Hence, remediation of these ecosystems is crucial not only for their conservation, but also to prevent the propagation of pollutants into the food web. Salt marsh plants have been suggested as suitable alternatives for soil/sediment remediation, having shown potential for the phytoremediation of metal-polluted media. However, more studies in conditions as close as possible to those found in the environment are needed to really confirm this potential; this is the aim of the two studies reported in this chapter. The first study results showed the capability of the salt marsh plant Halimione portulacoides for accumulating high metal levels from metal-polluted in its tissues, indicating, however, that a high plant biomass will be required for phytoremediating metal-affected areas. The second study results indicate that both Juncus maritimus and Phragmites australis have the capacity to be Cd phytostabilizers indicating that these plants can contribute to the recovery of impacted estuarine areas. More experiments should now be carried out to confirm the phytoremediation applicability in the estuarine environment and to assess ways to improve the capability shown by these plants for phytostabilization of metals.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge FEDER funds through Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade—COMPETE and to Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) under POCTI/CTA/48386/2002, PesT-C/MAR/LA0015/2011, PTDC/MAR/099140/2008 and REEQ/304/QUI/2005 and ACR PhD scholarship (SFRH/BD/38780/2007) co-financed by POPH/FSE; and to all colleagues from the POCTI who collaborated in the field implementation of the Halimione portulacoides experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIMAR/CIIMAR–Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas, 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal

    C. Marisa R. Almeida, A. Cristina Rocha, Ana P. Mucha & M. Teresa S. D. Vasconcelos

Authors
  1. C. Marisa R. Almeida
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  2. A. Cristina Rocha
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  3. Ana P. Mucha
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  4. M. Teresa S. D. Vasconcelos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Marisa R. Almeida .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bioquímica Biología Celular y Molecular de Plantas, Estación Experimental Del Zaidín CSIC, Granada, Spain

    Dharmendra K. Gupta

  2. Departamento de Bioquímica Biol. Cellular y Molecular de Plantas, Estación Experimental del Zaidín CSIC, Granada, Spain

    Francisco J. Corpas

  3. Departamento de Bioquímica Biol. Cellular y Molecular de Plantas, Estación Experimental del Zaidín CSIC, Granada, Spain

    José M. Palma

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Almeida, C.M.R., Rocha, A.C., Mucha, A.P., Vasconcelos, M.T.S.D. (2013). Evaluation of the Potential of Salt Marsh Plants for Metal Phytoremediation in Estuarine Environment. In: Gupta, D., Corpas, F., Palma, J. (eds) Heavy Metal Stress in Plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38469-1_12

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