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. 2024 Mar 18;10(7):e28183.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28183. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.

Green solution to riparian pollution: Populus alba L. potential for phytoremediation and bioindication of PTEs along the Sava river

Zorana Miletić  1 , Milica Jonjev  1 , Snežana Jarić  1 , Olga Kostić  1 , Dimitrije Sekulić  1 , Miroslava Mitrović  1 , Pavle Pavlović  1
Affiliations

Green solution to riparian pollution: Populus alba L. potential for phytoremediation and bioindication of PTEs along the Sava river

Zorana Miletić et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

This study addresses the potential of Populus alba L. for bioindication and phytoremediation of the contaminated lower part of the Sava River. The main objectives are to assess soil contamination with potentially toxic elements (PTEs: As, B, Cd, Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn), evaluate their availability, and assess the phytoremediation and bioindication potential of Populus alba. Quantification of the PTE contents was performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), while bioindication and phytoremediation potential were evaluated using accumulation indices. The study revealed phytotoxic contents of Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn in the riparian soils of the lower Sava River. The percentage of available Cd was high, but due to its low total content, its phytotoxic potential is limited. According the metal accumulation index, Populus alba exhibits significant potential to accumulate the PTEs studied (with accumulated toxic contents of B, Cr, Li, Sr, and Zn). The ability of Populus alba to accumulate and bioindicate Cd, Cr, and Ni is promising, as is its ability to potentially remediate B, Cd, and Zn. Copper deficiency in leaves resulted in a reduction in photosynthetic performance, but without visible morphological symptoms. The reduced photosynthetic capacity serves as an adaptive strategy for this species in response to toxic levels of PTEs. Since Populus alba is widely distributed in European riparian forests, it is a good candidate to address soil contamination through phytoremediation and bioindication techniques.

Keywords: Bioindication; PTE accumulation; Phytoremediation; Populus alba; Potentially toxic elements; Sava river.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Sampling sites in the Sava River lower course.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Physical and chemical properties of the studied soils: a) percentage of sand, silt and clay in the soils; b) texture classification of the soils; c) pH of the studied soils; d) percentage of organic matter in the soils.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
PTE content in soils expressed in mg kg−1: a) Total content of PTEs in soils; b) DTPA content of PTEs in soils; c) AR index – availability of PTEs presented in percents (%). Results that do not share a common letter have a statistically significant difference in means according to ANOVA (Tukey LSD post-hoc test).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
a) correlation of PTEs in roots and soils; b) correlation of PTEs in leaves and soils; Level of statistical significance: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The photosynthetic performance of P. alba: a) mean Fv/Fm with standard deviation; b) correlations of PTEs in leaves with Fv/Fm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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