Abstract
Soils polluted by heavy metals can be reclaimed using a number of expensive tactics that either remove the contaminants or stabilize them within the soil. The value of metal accumulating plants for environmental remediation has recently been appreciated and promising results have been obtained. This paper reports a study on the behavior of Brassica napus, Brassica juncea, Raphanus sativus and Brassica carinata grown on a substrate contaminated by several heavy metals caused by the use of contaminated irrigation water. Data on carbon dioxide assimilation, biomass growth and the bioconcentration and translocation factor of each metal in each species were measured. The polluted substrate caused only a small variation in photosynthesis, however transpiration was more affected by the experimental substrate and in all three species of the genus Brassica the presence of metals in the substrate resulted in higher transpiration levels.
Two bioconcentration factors were calculated respectively for the roots (BCF) and the shoots (BCF′); the BCF was >1 for all the species for Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn without significant differences among species. All the values of BCF′ were lower than 0.5; among the metals, all Brassica species demonstrated a similar performance for Cd and Zn, whereas for other elements the bioconcentration factor was very low.
Access this article
We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.
Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angle J.S., Baker, A.J.M., Whiting, N.S. and Chaney, R.L.: 2003, 'Soil moisture effects on uptake of metals by Thlaspi, Alyssum, and Berkheya', Plant Soil 256, 325–332.
Baker, A.J.M.: 2000, 'Phytoremediation: A developing technology for the remediation and decontam-ination of metal-polluted soils and effluents', in A.A.M. Del Re, P. Fusi, R. Izzo, P. Nannipieri, F. Navari-Izzo, R. Pinton, M. Trevisan and Z. Varanini (eds), Proceedings of the 27th Congress of the Italian Society of Agricultural Chemistry, Portoferraio, Italy, 29 September-1 October 1999, pp. 3–7.
Baker, A.J.M. and Brooks, R.R.: 1989, 'Terrestrial higher plants which accumulate metallic elements. A review of their distribution, ecology and phytochemistry', Biorecovery 1, 81–126.
Baker, A.J.M., McGrath, S.P., Sidoli, C.M.D. and Reeves, R.D.: 1994, 'The possibility of in situheavy metals decontamination of polluted soils using crops of metal-accumulating plants', Resour. Conserv. Recycling 11, 41–49.
Bañuelos, G.S., Shannon, M.C., Ajwa, H., Draper, J.H., Jordahl, J. and Licht, L.: 1999, 'Phytoex-traction and accumulation of boron and selenium by poplar(Populus)hybrid clones', Int. J. Phytoremediation 1, 81–96.
Brown, S.L., Chaney, R.L., Angle, J.S. and Baker, A.J.M.: 1995, 'Zinc and cadmium uptake by hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens Grown in Nutrient Solution', Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 59, 125–133.
Chaney, R.L.: 1983, 'Plant uptake of inorganic waste constituents', in J.F. Parr, P.B. Marsh and J.M. Kla Noyes (eds), Land Treatment of Hazardous Wastes, Data Corp., Park Ridge, NJ, USA, pp. 50–76.
Chaney, R.L., Malik, M., Li, Y.M., Brown, S.L., Angle, J.S. and Baker, A.J.M.: 1997, 'Phytoremedi-ation of soil metals', Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 8, 279–284.
Ekvall, L. and Greger, M.: 2003,'Effects of environmental biomass-producing factors on Cd uptake in two Swedish ecotypes of Pinus sylvestris', Environ. Pollut. 121, 401–411.
Gisbert, C., Ros, R., De Haro, A., Walker, D.J., Pilar-Bernal, M., Serrano, R. and Navarro-Aviño, J.: 2003, 'A plant genetically modified that accumulates Pb is especially promising for phytoreme-diation', Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 303, 440–445.
Guerinot, M.L. and Salt, D.S.: 2001. 'Fortified foods and phytoremediation. Two sides of the same coin', Plant Physiol. 125, 164–167.
Haag-Kerwer A., Schäfer, H.J., Heis, S., Walter, C. and Rausch, T.: 1999, 'Cadmium exposure in Brassica junceacauses a decline in transpiration rate and leaf expansion without effect on pho-tosynthesis', J. Exp. Bot. 50, 1827–1835.
Jauert, P., Schumacher, T. E., Boe, A. and Reese R. N.: 2002, 'Rhizosphere acidification and cadmium uptake by Strawberry Clover', J. Environ. Qual. 31, 627–633.
Kabata-Pendias, A. and Pendias, H.: 1992, 'Trace elements in soils and plants', 2nd edn., CRC, Boca Raton., p. 365.
Klang-Westin, E. and Perttu, K.: 2002, 'Effects of nutrient supply and soil cadmium concentration on cadmium removal by willow', Biomass Bioenergy 23, 415–426.
Lasat, M.M.: 2000, 'Phytoextraction of metal from contaminated soil: A review of plant/soil/metal interaction and assessment of pertinent agronomic issues', J. Hazard. Subst. Res. 2, 1–25.
Li, Y.M., Chaney, R., Brewer, E., Roseberg, R., Angle, J.S., Baker, A.J.M., Reeves, R. and Nelkin, J.: 2003, 'Development of a technology for commercial phytoextraction of Nickel: Economic and technical considerations' Plant Soil 249, 107–115.
Madrid, F., Liphadzi, M.S. and Kirkham, M.B.: 2003, 'Heavy metal displacement in chelate-irrigated soil during phytoremediation', J. Hydrol. 272, 107–119.
Marchiol, L., Assolari, S. Sacco, P. and Zerbi. G.: 2004, 'Phytoextraction of heavy metals by canola (Brassica napus) and radish (Raphanus sativus)', Environ. Pollut.(in press).
Marchiol, L., Leita, L., Martin, M., Peressotti, A. and Zerbi, G.: 1996, 'Physiological response of two soybean cultivars to cadmium', J. Environ. Qual. 25, 562–566.
Mattina M.J.I., Lannucci-Berger, W., Musante, C. and White, J.C.: 2003, 'Concurrent plant up-take of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants from soil', Environ. Pollut. 124, 375–378.
McGrath, S.P.: 1998, 'Phytoextraction for soil remediation', in R.R. Brooks (ed), Plants That Hyper-accumulate Heavy Metals-Their Role in Phytoremediation, Microbiology, Archeology, Mineral Exploration and Phytomining, CAB International, New York, NY, USA, pp. 261–287.
McGrath, S.P., Lombi, E. and Zhao, F.-J.: 2001, 'What's new about cadmium hyperaccumulation?' New Phytologist 149, 2–3.
McGrath, S.P. and Zhao, F.J.: 2003, 'Phytoextraction of metals and metalloids from contaminated soils', Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 14, 277–282.
Mulligan C.N., Yong R.N. and Gibbs B.F., 2001. Remediation technologies for metal contaminated soils and groundwater: An evaluation. Eng. Geol. 60, 193–207.
Nie L., Shah, S., Rashid, A., Burd, G.I., Dixon, D.G. and Glick, B.R.: 2002, 'Phytoremediation of arsenate contaminated soil by transgenic canola and the plant growth-promoting bacterium Enterobacter cloacaeCAL2', Plant Physiol. Biochem. 40, 355–361.
Reeves R.D. and Brooks, R.R.: 1983, 'Hyperaccumulation of lead and zinc by two metallophytes from mining areas of Central Europe', Environ. Pollut. 31, 277–285.
US EPA Method 3051: 1994, 'Microwave-Assisted Acid Digestion of Sediments, Sludges, Soils and Oils',Washington DC, USA.
Vassilev, A., Tsonev, T. and Yordanov, I.: 1998, 'Physiological response of barley plants (Hordeum vulgare)tocadmium contamination in soil during ontogenesis', Environ. Pollut. 103, 287–293.
Weih, M. and Nordh, N.E.: 2002, 'Characterising willows for biomass and phytoremediation: Growth, nitrogen and water use of 14 willow clones under different irrigation and fertilisation regimes', Biomass Bioenergy 23, 397–413.
Zaman, M.S. and Zereen, F.: 1998, 'Growth responses of radish plants to soil cadmium and lead contamination', Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 61, 44–50.
Zhao, F.L., Lombi, E. and McGrath, S.P.: 2003, 'Assessing the potential for zinc and cadmium phytoremediation with the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens', Plant Soil 249, 37–43.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marchiol, L., Sacco, P., Assolari, S. et al. Reclamation of Polluted Soil: Phytoremediation Potential of Crop-Related BRASSICA Species. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 158, 345–356 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:WATE.0000044862.51031.fb
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:WATE.0000044862.51031.fb