Quantifying Metal Contamination and Potential Uptake by Phragmites australis Adans. (Poaceae) Along a Subtropical River System.

ABSTRACT: : Metal pollution is pervasive across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems owing to anthropogenic activities. Sediments can accrue high concentrations of metals and act as secondary sources, and thus may be valuable indicators of metal contamination across spatiotemporal scales. In aquatic systems, the extent of metal pollution may be further mediated by transference among sediments and living organisms, with plant metal contaminants potentially predictive of underlying sediment concentrations. The present study thus quantifies the extent of metal pollutants (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, Mn, B, Fe) across multiple study sites and seasons (cool-dry, hot-wet, hot-dry) in a subtropical river system. Furthermore, uptake by a key macrophyte species, Phragmites australis, was examined and correlated wit

SUBMITTER: Netshiongolwe NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7412227 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature