Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov 5;12(21):3775.
doi: 10.3390/plants12213775.

Bio-Monitoring of Metal(loid)s Pollution in Dry Riverbeds Affected by Mining Activity

José Cuevas  1 , Ángel Faz  1 , Silvia Martínez-Martínez  1 , María Gabarrón  1 , Juan Beltrá  1 , Jacinto Martínez  1 , José A Acosta  1
Affiliations

Bio-Monitoring of Metal(loid)s Pollution in Dry Riverbeds Affected by Mining Activity

José Cuevas et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the most abundant native plants that could be used as a bio-monitor of metal(loid) concentration in dry riverbeds affected by mining activities. Three plants species and their respective rhizospheric soils were sampled from the El Beal (Piptatherum miliaceum, 15 samples), La Carrasquilla (Foeniculum vulgare, 10 samples), and Ponce (Dittrichia viscosa, 12 samples) dry riverbeds from the mining district of Cartegena-La Unión (SE Spain). There is scanty bibliography of the capacity of these species to be used as bio-monitors in the dry riverbeds. Plants categorized as a bio-monitor were established according to the bioaccumulation factor (BF), mobility ratio (MR), and linear correlations between metal(loid) concentrations in plants tissues (root or stem)-rhizospheric soils. The rhizospheric soils were highly contaminated for As, Cd, Pb, and Zn (Cf ≥ 6), and moderately contaminated for Mn (1 ≤ Cf < 3). Piptatherum miliaceum presented on Cd similar mean concentrations on rhizospheric soil and root, BF = 1.07, with a strong correlation soil-root (r = 0.61, p = 0.02). Therefore, of the three species with the capacity to grow in the area, Piptatherum miliaceum showed characteristics to be considered as a bio-monitor for Cd, with a BF > 1, and a positive-significant correlation between the rhizospheric soil and roots.

Keywords: Mar Menor lagoon; bio-monitoring; dry riverbed; native plant; phytotoxic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study area and sampling points for the most abundant plant species selected on each dry riverbed. (a) Map fof the region of Murcia (Spain); (b) map of the study area Cartagena La Unión mining district; (c) sampling points for the most abundant plant species selected on each dry riverbed.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Contamination factor contribution ΣCfi in rhizospheric soil samples from dry riverbeds, El Beal (Piptatherum miliaceum); La Carrasquilla (Foeniculum vulgare); Ponce (Dittrichia viscosa). Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Pollution load index (PLI) in rhizomes samples from dry riverbeds. El Beal (Piptatherum miliaceum); La Carrasquilla (Foeniculum vulgare); Ponce (Dittrichia viscosa). Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Spatial distribution of risk index RI in rhizome samples from dry riverbeds. (a) El Beal (Piptatherum miliaceum); (b) La Carrasquilla (Foeniculum vulgare); (c) Ponce (Dittrichia viscosa).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Box plots for bioaccumulation factor (BF) of the 9 metal(loid)s by plant species–dry riverbed. “x” identifies the mean value. (a) El Beal (Piptatherum miliaceum); (b) La Carrasquilla (Foeniculum vulgare); (c) Ponce (Dittrichia viscosa).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Box plots for translocation factor (TF) of the 9 metal(loid)s by plant species–dry riverbed. “x” identifies the mean value (a) El Beal (Piptatherum miliaceum); (b) La Carrasquilla (Foeniculum vulgare); (c) Ponce (Dittrichia viscosa).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Box plots for mobility ratio (MR) of the 9 metal(loid)s by plant species–dry riverbed. “x” identifies the mean value (a) El Beal (Piptatherum miliaceum); (b) La Carrasquilla (Foeniculum vulgare); (c) Ponce (Dittrichia viscosa).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Stankovic S., Stankovic A.R. Green Materials for Energy, Products and Depollution. Springer; Dordrecht, The Netherlands: 2013. Bioindicators of toxic metals; pp. 151–228. - DOI
    1. Siddig A.A.H., Aaron M., Ellison A., Ochs A., Villar-Leeman C., Lau M.K. How do ecologists select and use indicator species to monitor ecological change? Insights from 14 years of publication in Ecological Indicators. Ecol. Indic. 2016;60:223–230. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.06.036. - DOI
    1. Doganlar Z.B., Doganlar O., Erdogan S., Onal Y. Heavy metal pollution and physiological changes in the leaves of some shrub, palm and tree species in urban areas of Adana, Turkey. Chem. Speciat. Bioavailab. 2012;24:65–78. doi: 10.3184/095422912X13338055043100. - DOI
    1. Bharti S.K., Trivedi A., Kumar N. Air pollution tolerance index of plants growing near an industrial site. Urban Clim. 2018;24:820–829. doi: 10.1016/j.uclim.2017.10.007. - DOI
    1. Turkyilmaz A., Sevik H., Cetin M. The use of perennial needles as biomonitors for recently accumulated heavy metals. Landsc. Ecol. Eng. 2018;14:115–120. doi: 10.1007/s11355-017-0335-9. - DOI