Scholarly record

BIOACCUMULATION OF HAZARDOUS METALS BY PLANTS IN POST-MINE DUMP SITES

Kateřina Kučová

Abstract

Phytoremediation is a complex process by which plants reduce environmental contamination. Plants that are able to remove toxic metals from the environment by the process of their accumulation in their tissues, are collectively called to as hyperaccumulators. Metal accumulating species can be used for phytoremediation (removal of contaminant from soils) or phytomining (growing plants to harvest the metals). Hyperaccumulator plants often appear to be restricted in their distribution to metalliferous soils, from which they always exhibit hyperaccumulation of some element; in many parts of the world, by virtue of their existence solely or significantly on metalliferous soils, hyperaccumulator plants are threatened by habitat loss, especially from mining and mineral extraction. The aim of the study was to verify hyperaccumulation activity of ruderal plants on the thermally active dump pile of the Ema tailings which is situated on the area of 32 ha in the Ostrava-Karvina district, the Czech Republic. It is an old complex of excavated tailings from three hard coal mines, which are now closed, with a material volume of up to 2,6 mil. m3. The plant samples were taken in the places with the thermal activity and were compared the ability of bioaccumulation of hazardous metals ? Co, Mo, Cd, Pb, Cr, As, Ba, Sr in the plant tissues from different parts of the plants (root, stem, leaf, fruit). The results were compared with the concentration of the metals at the sampling points. The hightest ability to bioaccumulate was demonstrated by plants from the Bryophyta divison.

Publication Impact Profile

• Citations
• CrossRef - Citation Indexes: 1
• Scopus - Citation Indexes: 2

• Captures
• Mendeley - Readers: 3

PLUMX see details

DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2020/5.1/s20.013

Publication details

Back to publication list