Extensive variation in cadmium tolerance and accumulation among populations of Chamaecrista fasciculata.

ABSTRACT: Plant populations may vary substantially in their tolerance for and accumulation of heavy metals, and assessment of this variability is important when selecting species to use in restoration or phytoremediation projects. We examined the population variation in cadmium tolerance and accumulation in a leguminous pioneer species native to the eastern United States, the partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata). We assayed growth, reproduction and patterns of cadmium accumulation in six populations of C. fasciculata grown on a range of cadmium-contaminated soils. In general, C. fasciculata exhibited tolerance in low to moderate soil cadmium concentrations. Both tolerance and accumulation patterns varied across populations. C. fasciculata exhibited many characteristics of a hyperaccumulator spec

SUBMITTER: Henson TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3646754 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature