Phytoremediation potential of Miscanthus × giganteus and Spartina pectinata in soil contaminated with heavy metals

Abstract

The aim of this work was to assess the suitability of Miscanthus × giganteus and Spartina pectinata link to Cu, Ni, and Zn phytoremediation. A 2-year microplot experiment with the tested grasses growing on metal-contaminated soil was carried out. Microplots with cement borders, measuring 1 × 1 × 1m, were filled with Haplic Luvisols soil. Simulated soil contamination with Cu, Ni, and Zn was introduced in the following doses in mg kg(-1): 0-no metals, Cu1-100, Cu2-200, Cu3-400, Ni1-60, Ni2-100, Ni3-240, Zn1-300, Zn2-600, and Zn3-1200. The phytoremediation potential of grasses was evaluated using a tolerance index (TI), bioaccumulation factor (BF), bioconcentration factor (BCF), and translocation factor (TF). S. pectinata showed a higher tolerance to soil contamination with Cu, Ni, and Zn compared to M. × giganteus. S. pectinata was found to have a high suitability for phytostabilization of Zn and lower suitability of Cu and Ni. M. × giganteus had a lower phytostabilization potential than S. pectinata. The suitability of both grasses for Zn phytoextraction depended on the age of the plants. Both grasses were not suitable for Cu and Ni phytoextraction. The research showed that one-season studies were not valuable for fully assessing the phytoremediation potential of perennial plants.

Assessment of the adaptive and phytoremediation potential of Miscanthus×giganteus grown in flotation tailings

“…In this real-field experiment, M.×giganteus was shown to be capable of developing and growing in flotation tailings loaded with heavy metals. By far the largest portions of accumulated Pb, Cu and Zn were retained in the roots, which corresponded to data reported for different Miscanthus species grown on metal polluted substrates [29,[44][45][46]. Such pronounced retention of metals by the roots is due to their effective immobilization, mostly within the cell walls of the cortex parenchyma cells, and efficiently prevented transport toward the stele and aerial parts by the Casparian strip [47,48].…”

Using Jerusalem Artichoke to Extract Heavy Metals from Municipal Sewage Sludge Amended Soil

“…Plants with a high phytoextraction potential include, among other things, Jerusalem artichoke, miscanthus, and spartina [21][22]. Using the process of phytoextraction of heavy metals from sewage sludge is an alternative method of soil cleaning [2,5,23].…”

Heavy Metal Uptake by Novel Miscanthus Seed-Based Hybrids Cultivated in Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil

“…Biomass production using perennial plants for energy purposes may offer an alternative; such an approach could provide multiple benefits in terms of both degraded land management, as well as phytoremediation, due to the stabilization or extraction of toxic elements by plants [15]. There has already been extensive research investigating the potential of different energy crop cultivation in soil contaminated with HMs [1,11,12,19]. Miscanthus × giganteus is widely cultured in Europe as a bio-energy crop; it is a sterile, triploid interspecific hybrid produced by the natural cross of M. sinensis (diploid) and M. sacchariflorus (tetraploid) [5].…”

“…relatively new on the market. Experiments involving the cultivation of commercial M. × giganteus in contaminated soils are widely described by many authors [10,11,14,19]. The aim of the current study was to assess the cultivation potential of novel Miscanthus seeds-based hybrids on heavy metal contaminated arable land, alongside M. × giganteus propogated from rhizomes.…”