Sarcocornia neei as an Indicator of Environmental Pollution: A Comparative Study in Coastal Wetlands of Central Chile
Being adapted to saline environments, halophytes are plant species that have received considerable attention due to their ability to cope with environmental stress factors, such as high concentrations of soluble salts and heavy metals. In this work, we focused on determining if the Sarcocornia neei...
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doaj-32254267f4c145fe9728ef70fc2549512020-11-25T01:03:46ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472018-08-01736610.3390/plants7030066plants7030066Sarcocornia neei as an Indicator of Environmental Pollution: A Comparative Study in Coastal Wetlands of Central ChileVerónica Meza0Camilo Lillo1Daniela Rivera2Eva Soto3Rodrigo Figueroa4Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Av. Carvallo 270, Valparaíso, ChileFacultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Av. Carvallo 270, Valparaíso, ChileFacultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Av. Carvallo 270, Valparaíso, ChileFacultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Av. Carvallo 270, Valparaíso, ChileInstituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, ChileBeing adapted to saline environments, halophytes are plant species that have received considerable attention due to their ability to cope with environmental stress factors, such as high concentrations of soluble salts and heavy metals. In this work, we focused on determining if the Sarcocornia neei (S. neei) plant can be considered as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in soil. This was done by analyzing the concentration of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and arsenic (As) in plants and soil sampled from two wetlands in the central zone of Chile: a wetland contaminated by industrial activities and a wetland protected by the Chilean government. In addition, 14 fertility parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sodium (Na), Pb, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and boron (B)) were analyzed for soil samples in both wetlands. This was done to differentiate between available elements and contamination by heavy metals. Plant and soil samples in the contaminated wetland exhibited significantly higher heavy metal concentrations in comparison to samples analyzed from the protected wetland. This indicates that the S. neei plant can be further researched as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in saline soils and possibly for phytoremediation purposes.http://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/7/3/66Sarcocornia spcoastal wetlandsheavy metals analysis |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Verónica Meza Camilo Lillo Daniela Rivera Eva Soto Rodrigo Figueroa |
spellingShingle |
Verónica Meza Camilo Lillo Daniela Rivera Eva Soto Rodrigo Figueroa Sarcocornia neei as an Indicator of Environmental Pollution: A Comparative Study in Coastal Wetlands of Central Chile Plants Sarcocornia sp coastal wetlands heavy metals analysis |
author_facet |
Verónica Meza Camilo Lillo Daniela Rivera Eva Soto Rodrigo Figueroa |
author_sort |
Verónica Meza |
title |
Sarcocornia neei as an Indicator of Environmental Pollution: A Comparative Study in Coastal Wetlands of Central Chile |
title_short |
Sarcocornia neei as an Indicator of Environmental Pollution: A Comparative Study in Coastal Wetlands of Central Chile |
title_full |
Sarcocornia neei as an Indicator of Environmental Pollution: A Comparative Study in Coastal Wetlands of Central Chile |
title_fullStr |
Sarcocornia neei as an Indicator of Environmental Pollution: A Comparative Study in Coastal Wetlands of Central Chile |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sarcocornia neei as an Indicator of Environmental Pollution: A Comparative Study in Coastal Wetlands of Central Chile |
title_sort |
sarcocornia neei as an indicator of environmental pollution: a comparative study in coastal wetlands of central chile |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Plants |
issn |
2223-7747 |
publishDate |
2018-08-01 |
description |
Being adapted to saline environments, halophytes are plant species that have received considerable attention due to their ability to cope with environmental stress factors, such as high concentrations of soluble salts and heavy metals. In this work, we focused on determining if the Sarcocornia neei (S. neei) plant can be considered as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in soil. This was done by analyzing the concentration of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and arsenic (As) in plants and soil sampled from two wetlands in the central zone of Chile: a wetland contaminated by industrial activities and a wetland protected by the Chilean government. In addition, 14 fertility parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sodium (Na), Pb, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and boron (B)) were analyzed for soil samples in both wetlands. This was done to differentiate between available elements and contamination by heavy metals. Plant and soil samples in the contaminated wetland exhibited significantly higher heavy metal concentrations in comparison to samples analyzed from the protected wetland. This indicates that the S. neei plant can be further researched as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in saline soils and possibly for phytoremediation purposes. |
topic |
Sarcocornia sp coastal wetlands heavy metals analysis |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/7/3/66 |
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