Native accumulator plants with a differential mercury phytoremediation potential in a region in Southern Amazon

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2024-11, Vol.31 (54), p.63120-63135
• Main Authors: de Freitas, Franciele, Solera, Kleber, Lopes, Vinícius José Santos, Córdova, Milton Omar, Cavalheiro, Larissa, Moreno, Maria Inês Cruzeiro, Battirola, Leandro Dênis, de Andrade, Ricardo Lopes Tortorela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioaccumulation; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biological magnification; Brazil; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Geographical distribution; Indigenous species; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Mercury - metabolism; Phytoremediation; Plant biomass; Plant layout; Plant species; Plants - metabolism; Research Article; Ruderal environments; Soil Pollutants - metabolism; Soil remediation; Statistical analysis; Statistical tests; Trace metals; Translocation; Tropical environment; Tropical environments; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-35407-y

Mercury (Hg) is a non-essential trace metal, toxic to living beings and complex to quantify and mitigate in the environment. In this study, 25 plant species native to an Amazon-Cerrado transition area were tested for use in Hg remediation. Species identification, Hg quantification in plant biomass and soil at each sampling point, and evaluation of Hg compartmentalization in each plant were carried out. The results were subjected to statistical tests and evaluated using translocation coefficients (FT), bioconcentration (FBC), and bioaccumulation (FB). The results demonstrated that the distribution and accumulation of Hg differed between species and between the parts of the plant evaluated. Soil was the predominant source of Hg in the study area. The study highlighted seven species with Hg phytoremediation potential. Five translocator species were characterized, among these a preferentially bioaccumulating and bioconcentrating species, in addition to a bioconcentrating species and a preferentially bioconcentrating and bioaccumulating species of Hg. Potentially accumulating species stood out, Blechnum serrulatum Rich. (Blechnaceae), Mauritia flexuosa L.f. (Arecaceae), and Montrichardia arborescens (L.) Schott (Araceae), all widely distributed in tropical regions, characterized as rooted, terrestrial, or amphibious and associated with ruderal environments.