Assessment of Potential Indigenous Plant Species for the Phytoremediation of Arsenic-Contaminated Areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

Soil and water contaminated with arsenic (As) pose a major environmental and human health problem in Bangladesh. Phytoremediation, a plant-based technology, may provide an economically viable solution for remediating the As-polluted sites. The use of indigenous plants with a high tolerance and accumulation capacity for As may be a very convenient approach for phytoremediation. To assess the potential of native plant species for phytoremediation, plant and soil samples were collected from four As-contaminated (groundwater) districts in Bangladesh. The main criteria used for selecting plants for phytoremediation were high bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and translocation factors (TFs) of As. From the results of a screening of 49 plant species belonging to 29 families, only one species of fern (Dryopteris filix-mas), three herbs (Blumea lacera, Mikania cordata, and Ageratum conyzoides), and two shrubs (Clerodendrum trichotomum and Ricinus communis) were found to be suitable for phytoremediation. Arsenic bioconcentration and translocation factors > 1 suggest that these plants are As-tolerant accumulators with potential use in phytoextraction. Three floating plants (Eichhornia crassipes, Spirodela polyrhiza, and Azolla pinnata) and a common wetland weed (Monochoria vaginalis) also showed high BCF and TF values; therefore, these plants may be promising candidates for cleaningup As-contaminated surface water and wetland areas. The BCF of Oryza sativa, obtained from As-contaminated districts was > 1, which highlights possible food-chain transfer issues for As-contaminated areas in Bangladesh.

Arsenic and Heavy Metal Uptake and Accumulation in Native Plant Species from Soils Polluted by Mining Activities

“…Plants growing in metalliferous soils may have exceptional properties that make them interesting for phytoremediation because these indigenous plant species are often better suited for survival, growth, and reproduction under environmental extremes than plants introduced from other environments (Mahmud et al 2008;Pilon-Smits 2005). As such, soil/plant metal transfer in native plant species growing in areas polluted by mining activities has been previously studied by several authors.…”

Phytoremediation of arsenic-contaminated water: the role of antioxidant metabolism of Azolla caroliniana Willd. (Salviniales)

“…Among all the species of Azolla, A. caroliniana proved to be able to accumulate the highest As concentration (Mahmud et al 2008;Sánchez-Viveros et al 2011;, which makes this plant an interesting tool for use in phytoremediation. However, the accumulation of As triggered several types of cell damage (Islam et al 2015), which can be observed through increasing concentrations of oxidative stress biomarkers, such as enzymes and thiols, and by the decrease in plant growth (Dazy et al 2012).…”

Heavy Metal Accumulation as Phytoremediation Potential of Aquatic Macrophyte, Monochoria vaginalis (Burm.F.) K. Presl Ex Kunth

“…Talukdar and D. Talukdar (2015) Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol 3(1): 9-15 This paper can be downloaded online at http://ijasbt.org & http://nepjol.info/index.php/IJASBT Metal uptake by plant has three patterns: a) True exclusion in which metals are restricted from entering the plant, b) Shoot exclusion in which metals are accumulated in the root but translocation to the shoot is restricted, and c) Accumulation where metals are concentrated in the plant parts. Primary evidence pointed out that Monochoria vaginalis can accumulate substantial amount of lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) in its plant parts (Liu et al, 2007;Mahmud et al, 2008;Hariyadi et al, 2013). Hyperaccumulators can uptake, translocate and tolerate high levels of certain heavy metals that would be toxic to most other organisms.…”