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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
worldwide with substantial economic consequences. Heavy metals are an important
health hazard, causing disturbances namely at the level of muscular coordination (Zn)
and of the nervous system and kidneys (Pb), problems with reproduction, physiology and
morphology (Hg) and even cancer (As). Phytoremediation - the use of plants to remove
or immobilise contaminants - may offer a safe and low cost method for the remediation
of metal contaminated soil. The search for plants adapted to metal-stressful field
conditions may be an adequate approach to find plant species with the capacity to tolerate
or accumulate metals and with the potential to be applicable in further phytoremediation
strategies.
The area of Estarreja, in northern Portugal, is surrounded by a large industrial
complex, composed essentially by chemical facilities that for many years have discharged
their solid residues in an improvised sediment basin in the surrounding area, and released
its wastewaters into a nearby stream - “Esteiro de Estarreja”. Despite the high levels of
metals in the sediments, the vegetation in the banks of the stream remains prolific, yet
heterogeneously distributed with Solanum nigrum L., Rubus ulmifolius Schott and
Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel being the main plant colonisers. These
species have been recognized to accumulate some metals to levels above those
considered as normal in plant tissues, especially Zn - 10 to 100 mg Zn kg-1, with
Description
Keywords
Pedagogical Context
Citation
MARQUES, Ana P. G. C. - Plants indigenous to Esteiro De Estarreja - Potential for heavy metal phytoremediation. In Soil Remediation. USA: Nova Science Publishers, 2009. ISBN 978-1-60741-074-4. p. 119-147
Publisher
Nova Science Publishers