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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Main Authors: Verónica Meza, Camilo Lillo, Daniela Rivera, Eva Soto, Rodrigo Figueroa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-08-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/7/3/66
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spelling 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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