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An extension of the characteristic curve model of plant species behavior in heavy metal soils

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Abstract

This article proposes a mathematical model to characterize phytoremediation processes in soils contaminated with heavy metals. In particular, the proposed model constructs characteristic curves for the concentrations of several metals (As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Sb, and Zn) in soils and plants based on the experimental data retrieved from several bibliographical sources comprising 305 vegetal species. The proposed model is an extension of previous models of characteristic curves in phytoremediation processes developed by Lam et al. for root measurements using the bioconcentration factor. However, the proposed model extends this approach to consider roots, as well as aerial parts and shoots of the plant, while at the same time providing a less complex mathematical formula compared to the original. The final model shows an adjusted R2 of 0.712, and all its parameters are considered statistically significant. The model may be used to assess samples from a given plant species to identify its potential as an accumulator in the context of soil phytoremediation processes. Furthermore, a simplified version of the model was constructed using an approximation to provide an easy-to-compute alternative that is valid for concentrations below 37,000 mg/kg. This simplified model shows results similar to the original model for concentrations below this threshold and it uses an adjusted factor defined as \(\left[ {} \right]_{plant} /\sqrt {\left[ { } \right]_{soil} }\) that must be compared with a threshold depending on the metal, type of measurement, and target (e.g., accumulator or hyperaccumulator). The full model construction shows that 90 out of the 305 species assessed have a potential behavior as accumulators and 10 of them as hyperaccumulators. Finally, out of the 1405 experimental measurements, 1177 were shown to be accumulators or hyperaccumulators. In particular, 85% of the results coincide with the reported values, thus validating the proposed model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, 1270709, Antofagasta, Chile

    Elizabeth J. Lam, María E. Gálvez & Rodrigo Rojas

  2. Department of Computing and Systems Engineering, Universidad Católica del Norte, 1270709, Antofagasta, Chile

    Brian F. Keith

  3. Soil Science Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Jaume Bech

  4. Administration Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, 1270709, Antofagasta, Chile

    Fernando A. Alvarez

  5. Construction Management Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, 1270709, Antofagasta, Chile

    Vicente Zetola

  6. Mining Business School, ENM, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile

    Ítalo L. Montofré

  7. Mining and Metallurgical Engineering Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, 1270709, Antofagasta, Chile

    Ítalo L. Montofré

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  1. Elizabeth J. Lam
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  2. Brian F. Keith
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  8. Ítalo L. Montofré
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Contributions

E.J.L. contributed to conception/research design/data acquisition/data analysis and interpretation/manuscript draft. B.F.K contributed to conception/research design/data acquisition/data analysis and interpretation/manuscript draft. J.B. contributed to data analysis and interpretation/manuscript draft. F.A.Á.: contributed to research design/acquisition of data/drafting the manuscript. V.Z. contributed to research design/data acquisition/manuscript draft. R.J.R.: contributed to research design/data acquisition/manuscript draft. M.E.G. contributed to research design/data acquisition/manuscript draft. I.L.M. contributed to conception/data analysis and interpretation/manuscript draft. All the authors approved the final version to be submitted.

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Correspondence to Elizabeth J. Lam.

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Lam, E.J., Keith, B.F., Bech, J. et al. An extension of the characteristic curve model of plant species behavior in heavy metal soils. Environ Geochem Health 45, 9477–9494 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01490-2

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