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Phytoremediation of Three Herbaceous Plants to Remove Metals from Urban Runoff

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Abstract

Phytoremediation experiments were carried out to assess the ability of different herbaceous buffer strips to absorb metals. Results revealed the Medicago sativa buffer strip had the best removal capacity for copper, lead, and cadmium in the runoff and seepage flow. Copper and lead content in M. sativa were significantly higher than in Lolium perenne and Poa pratensis (p < 0.05). Cadmium content in P. pratensis was significantly higher than in L. perenne and M. sativa(p < 0.05). Total accumulation of copper and lead in M. sativa buffer strips was 13.45 mg kg−1 and 1.01 mg kg−1, respectively. Total cadmium accumulation was approximately 0.50 mg kg−1 in both M. sativa and P. pratensis. Overall, results indicated that using M. sativa in the buffer strips was optimal for the remediation of copper, lead, and cadmium in sewage water.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2016YFC0401105).

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Author notes

  1. He Wang contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China

    Hongwei Liu & Weifeng Gao

  2. College of Wildlife Resource, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China

    He Wang

  3. School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Hong Liang & Dawen Gao

  4. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Water Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Dawen Gao

Authors
  1. Hongwei Liu
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  2. He Wang
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  3. Weifeng Gao
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  4. Hong Liang
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  5. Dawen Gao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dawen Gao.

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Liu, H., Wang, H., Gao, W. et al. Phytoremediation of Three Herbaceous Plants to Remove Metals from Urban Runoff. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 103, 336–341 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-019-02677-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-019-02677-z

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