Temporal variation in the arsenic and metal accumulation in the maritime pine tree grown on contaminated soils

Abstract

The uptake of arsenic and other metals (iron, manganese, copper, zinc, lead, nickel and tungsten) by Pinus pinaster Aiton (the maritime pine tree) growing in soils and tailings around an abandoned mine (northern Portugal) was investigated. Aerial parts of Pinus pinaster trees were sampled from three substrate areas: a background area, in mine contaminated soils and in tailings. Vegetation material was separated into needles and stems and subdivided into tissues of different maturities (1-, 2-, 3-and 4-years-old). The sampling of the substrate in each area was also undertaken. In general, vegetation concentrations were strongly related to substrate concentrations. The results show that the contents of several elements depend as much on the plant organ as on the age of the tissue. For the researched elements, this species shows a great variability in behavior depending on the age of the organ. The data indicate that the older needles constitute the best samples for use in a conjunct biogeochemical analysis of these elements.

Biogeochemistry of uranium in the soil-plant and water-plant systems in an old uranium mine

“…The preparation of plant material included, where appropriate, separation into roots and aerial tissues. In the case of Pinus pinaster Aiton species, the sampling methodology followed the orientations defined by Favas et al (2013), Özdemir (2005), and Sun et al (2009). Needles and stems were collected from outer branches of the middle canopy at south, west, east, and north directions and thereafter these were homogeneously mixed.…”

Phytoremediation of Soils Contaminated with Metals and Metalloids at Mining Areas: Potential of Native Flora

“…Very high maximum values for Pb (6,299 mg/kg), As (5,770 mg/kg) and W (636 mg/kg) were observed at the Vale das Gatas mine ( Table 3). The Cu-Mn-W-As-Pb-Zn association, which reflects the presence of mineralised veins in the area, is inversely correlated with pH [93]. In general, the content variations in plant materials were strongly related to the content variations in soils.…”

“…In the P. pinaster samples from tailings and contaminated soil locations, the older needles (2and 3-years-old) show a tendency to accumulate higher concentrations of As, Fe, Zn, Pb and W while Ni and Cu were preferentially accumulated in young needles and stems (1-year-old) [93]. This allowed the authors to conclude that the metal/metalloid concentrations of elements in plants depend as much on the plant organ as on its age and in biogeochemical studies, it is important not to mix foliar and woody material in the same sample.…”

“…Several studies to survey the indigenous plant species of diverse contaminated areas and evaluate their potential for phytoremediation have been performed in Portugal [79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93]. The authors have undertaken studies to evaluate the phytotechnological potential (phytoremediation, phytomining, bioindication, biogeochemical prospecting) of native flora of soils enriched with metals and metalloids, in distinct abandoned mining areas of tin/tungsten (Sn/W), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), uranium (U), and chromium (Cr) and the results are presented in this chapter.…”

Samsun İli’ndeki Bazı Doğal ve Egzotik Ağaç ve Çalı Türlerinde Arsenik Birikimi

“…Tree species has long been used for biomonitoring because they are very efficient at trapping atmospheric particles and play a critical role to determine the risk categories for a particular heavy metal and metalloid. They have also been used in phytoremediation and the restoration of mine areas due to their high biomass and productivity (Tomasevic et al, 2011;Favas et al, 2013;Pal et al, 2014).…”