Abstract
In ecosystems that are potentially exposed to high levels of metal pollution, rapid and simple detection techniques that use bioindicator plants can be useful. In this study, leaves of Rhizophora mangle were analyzed from mangrove forests close to two industrial centers subjected to high levels of metal pollution—Pedra de Guaratiba with lower and Coroa Grande with higher levels of pollution. Energy-dispersion X-rays (EDX) coupled with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy were applied to study metal levels and their effects on plant leaves. EDX-SEM accurately identified elemental composition in a small amount of plant material. In samples from Coroa Grande, higher levels of Mn, Zn and Cu were accumulated in proportion to the higher metallurgical activity in the area. Only slight quantitative differences were detected in the anatomical features between leaves from the two sites. Plants need certain anatomical features, such as thick leaves, water-storage parenchyma, mucilaginous idioblasts, druse crystals, thick cuticle and an abundance of phenolic compounds to survive in saline, water-deficient and polluted environments. The findings of this study indicate that R. mangle is an accumulator that is tolerant to salinity and metal pollution, even under anthropogenic stress and that it presents functional characteristics typical of saline environments. EDX-SEM detected metals in the leaves of R. mangle, suggesting that it can be a practical and accurate method for environmental biomonitoring studies that use bioindicator plants.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge Luiz Felipe Plaça from the Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul for EDX analyses. For funding, we acknowledge the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ, RJ, Brazil): E-26/111.687/2011, E-26/110.781/2011 and E-26/010.002393/2019.
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FAPERJ,E-26/111.687/2011, Cristiane Pimentel Victório, E-26/110.781/2011, Cristiane Pimentel Victório, E-26/010.002393/2019, Cristiane Pimentel Victório.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Plant material was collected in mangroves by CPV, MSS, GTA and MCS. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by all authors according to their expertise. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CPV and RCOA, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript.
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Victório, C.P., dos Santos, M.S., Alves, G.T. et al. Rapid detection of metals in red mangrove Rhizophora mangle leaves in a polluted environment in Brazil. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 21, 4157–4170 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05271-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05271-3