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Aspects of phytoremediation for chromium contaminated sites using common plants Urtica dioica, Brassica napus and Zea mays

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Abstract

As chromium is widely used in many industries of which leather industries are the biggest consumers, wastes from tanneries pose a serious threat to the environment. Present research conducted greenhouse pot experiments on several plants using different solutions to find out their phytoextraction potential. Among the plants, Urtica dioica found to be very effective due to its higher uptake capacity for chromium. The analyses showed that with 500 mg/l solutions Cr concentration in roots was 38.9% higher (average 20 mg/kg) than plants fed with 200 mg/l solutions (phytostabilisation), while with 200 mg/l solutions more Cr was transported to leaves (phytoextraction), 10.52% higher (average 9.5 mg/kg) concentration than plants fed with 500 mg/l solutions, but also means that plants were less affected by toxicity. Zea mays showed high tolerance towards Cr with negligible concentration in leaves. Although average Cr concentration in Brassica napus is lower (25% and 21% for 200 mg/l and 500 mg/l solutions respectively) than Urtica dioica which still could account for phytoextraction, but due to its high vulnerability to insects its potentiality has downgraded. Among other elements, K being a component of the salt, played significant role for plants growth and survival—opening new avenue for phytoremediation of contaminated sites.

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Acknowledgement

Author is grateful to the Afro-Asiatische Institute, Salzburg, Austria, for the financial support to carry out this research project. Thanks are also due to Prof. Dr. Paul Heiselmayer (Head of the Botanical Garden) for his permission to carry the pot experiments in the greenhouse of the University of Salzburg. Special thanks go to Elisabeth Egger (staff member of the Botanical Garden) for her help and guidance to grow and caring the plants till the end of the experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Geology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Khaled Mahmud Shams & Gottfried Tichy

  2. Clausthaler Umwelttechnik-Institute GmbH, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany

    Axel Fischer & Kristina Filip

  3. Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Vienna, Austria

    Manfred Sager

  4. Department of Organism Biology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Thomas Peer

  5. Institute for Geotechnical Engineering and Mine Surveying, TU Clausthal, Germany

    Ashtar Bashar

Authors
  1. Khaled Mahmud Shams
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  2. Gottfried Tichy
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  3. Axel Fischer
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  4. Manfred Sager
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  5. Thomas Peer
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  6. Ashtar Bashar
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  7. Kristina Filip
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Correspondence to Khaled Mahmud Shams.

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Responsible Editor: Juan Barcelo.

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Shams, K.M., Tichy, G., Fischer, A. et al. Aspects of phytoremediation for chromium contaminated sites using common plants Urtica dioica, Brassica napus and Zea mays . Plant Soil 328, 175–189 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0095-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0095-x

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