A comparison of arsenic mobility in Phaseolus vulgaris, Mentha aquatica, and Pteris cretica rhizosphere

Abstract

The ability of Phaseolus vulgaris, Mentha aquatica, and Pteris cretica to release arsenic (As) species from contaminated soil was tested in rhizobox experiments in three soils differing in their physicochemical parameters and total and mobile As concentration. Relatively low uptake of arsenic by P. vulgaris and M. aquatica resulted in very low and ambiguous changes in rhizosphere soil compared to bulk soil. However, there were observed differences in the distribution of the mobile As portion in soil to individual As species as affected by plant species and/or plantation conditions of these plants. Higher percentage of mobile arsenite in mint rhizosphere seems to be related to more reducing conditions during cultivation of these wetland plants. P. cretica planted in the soils containing between 36 and 1436 mg As kg−1 was able to accumulate between 80 and 500 mg As kg−1 in aboveground biomass. The extractable concentrations of As compounds in rhizosphere soil of P. cretica showed a clear depletion of arsenate (representing more than 90% of extractable arsenic) with the distance from plant roots. However, the As uptake mechanisms, as well as As transformation within hyperaccumulating fern plants, differ substantially from those in higher plants. Therefore the finding of suitable higher plant tolerant to the As soil contamination with good ability to accumulate As in aboveground biomass remains for the further research.

Archives of Environmental Protection

“…In comparison with the remaining plants, peppermint (M. x piperita) demonstrated the highest degree of the contamination absorption from the soil. The research confi rmed the results obtained by Szakova et al (2009), who studied the M. aquatica growing in areas contaminated with arsenic. They found out that its content in the above-ground plant parts occurred in the following order: As(V)>As(III)>>DMA>MA.…”

Mobility of arsenic and its compounds in soil and soil solution: The effect of soil pretreatment and extraction methods

“…Compared to Experiment 1 where the fresh samples extracted were fully saturated, the redox conditions in this case were different resulting in different behavior of mobile As. The effect of soil microbial activity can be speculated as indicated by our previous results [37]. Macur et al [27] stated that both arsenic oxidizing and reducing bacteria coexist in soil environments, and the relative abundance and metabolic activity of specific microbial populations plays an important role in the speciation of As in soil solution.…”

“…These samples were used for determination of extractable concentrations of arsenic compounds. Because of the low uptake arsenic uptake by M. aquatica biomass [37] no significant changes in arsenic contents in experimental pots were expected.…”

Elevated Urbanization-Driven Plant Accumulation of Metal(loid)s Including Arsenic Species and Assessment of the Kłodnica River Sediment Contamination

“…Plants are often able to change their tolerance to a given element in the presence of elevated concentrations in the environment. The plant populations growing on polluted soils can adapt their tolerance to the current metal content in the soil (Szakova et al 2009(Szakova et al , 2011.…”