Native Hyperaccumulator Plants with Differential Phytoremediation Potential in an Artisanal Gold Mine of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

ABSTRACT: In tropical forests of southern Ecuador, artisanal gold mining releases heavy metals that become xenobiotic with indefinite circulation and eventual bioaccumulation. Restoration and rehabilitation of degraded mining sites represent a major ecological, technological and economic issue. In this study, we estimate the capacity of two native woody plants to accumulate cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and mercury (Hg), with the goal of developing effective strategies for phytoremediation of mining sites. Individuals of Erato polymnioides and Miconia sp., as well as their rhizospheric soils, were sampled from a natural zone (NZ) of montane cloud forest, used as a control, and a polluted zone (PZ) subjected to active gold mining. Concentrations of the four heavy metals were analyz

SUBMITTER: Chamba-Eras I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9099852 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature