article · Environment International
A two-year pot experiment evaluated twelve native wild plant species for their phytoremediation potential in soils contaminated with toxic elements, considering both element concentrations and biomass production. Three species, Poa angustifolia, Galium mollugo, and Stellaria holostea, were examined for the first time. Herbaceous plants proved more effective than grasses in absorbing toxic elements and generating biomass. Artemisia vulgaris performed as the most efficient absorber and behaved as a hyperaccumulator, particularly for cadmium and zinc, with additional uptake of copper and nickel. G. mollugo and S. holostea also displayed hyperaccumulator characteristics for cadmium and zinc, whereas P. angustifolia did not. Calculated remediation rates showed that halving soil cadmium levels required between eight harvests using A. vulgaris and fifty-one using G. mollugo, whilst zinc reduction required substantially more harvests.
Soil contamination by heavy metals poses severe environmental risks, yet cleaning up these sites is often difficult and costly. Identifying native wild plants that naturally extract toxic elements like cadmium and zinc offers an eco-friendly cleanup method. Calculating required harvests provides realistic timelines for soil restoration, helping environmental managers determine which plant species can deliver practical, measurable results.
This work could assist environmental remediation practitioners, mining firms, and land reclamation authorities seeking plant-based soil cleanup solutions. By identifying high-performing wild species and estimating harvest timelines, it guides species selection for phytoextraction programmes. However, the findings derive from a two-year pot trial, representing early-stage research that requires further field testing before operational deployment.
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Green remediation of soils highly contaminated with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) can be achieved using suitable plants. Such phytoremediation procedure often takes into consideration PTE concentrations in plants only, but not produced biomass. Phytoremediation potential of certain species of wild plants for PTEs in contaminated floodplain soils has not been assessed yet. Therefore, in this work 12 native species were tested, 3 of which (Poa angustifolia, Galium mollugo, and Stellaria holostea) to our knowledge have never been used before, in a two-year pot experiment and assessed their potential as phytoremediation species. The results showed that plant PTE concentrations were dramatically elevated for Cd and Zn in Alopecurus pratensis, Arrhenatherum elatius, Bromus inermis, Artemisia vulgaris, Achillea millefolium, Galium mollugo, Stellaria holostea, and Silene vulgaris. A. vulgaris was by far the most highly PTE absorbing plant among the 12 tested in this work, especially concerning Zn, Cd, and to a lesser degree Cu and Ni. Also, among species non-studied-before, G. mollugo and S. holostea were characterized by high Zn and Cd uptake, while P. angustifolia did not. Assessing the number of harvests necessary to decrease soil PTE to half of the initial concentrations, it was found that for Cd plants would achieve site phytoremediation within 8 (A. vulgaris) to 28 (S. holostea) and 51 (G. mollugo) harvests, while for Zn, harvests ranged from 104 (A. vulgaris) to 209 (S. holostea), and 251 (A. millefolium). A clear grouping of the tested species according to their functional type was evident. Herbaceous species were collectively more efficient than grasses in PTE uptake combined by high biomass accumulation; thus, they may act as key-species in a phytoremediation-related concept. Our approach puts phytoremediation into a practical perspective as to whether the process can be achieved within a measureable amount of time. In conclusion, A. vulgaris behaved as a hyperaccumulator plant species in our heavily contaminated soil, while never-studied-before G. mollugo and S. holostea also had a hyperaccumulator behavior, especially for Cd and Zn. Although more research is necessary for conclusive results, our study is pivotal in that it would help in assessing plant species as potential phytoremediation species in heavily contaminated soils.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106233
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