White poplar (Populus alba) as a biomonitor of trace elements in contaminated riparian forests.
Trees can be used to monitor the level of pollution of trace elements in the soil and atmosphere. In this paper, we surveyed the content of eight trace elements (As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) in leaves and stems of white poplar (Populus alba) trees. We selected 25 trees in the riparian forest of the Guadiamar River (S. Spain), one year after this area was contaminated by a mine spill, and 10 trees in non-affected sites. The spill-affected soils had significantly higher levels of available cadmium (mean of 1.25 mg kg(-1)), zinc (117 mg kg(-1)), lead (63.3 mg kg(-1)), copper (58.0 mg kg(-1)) and arsenic (1.70 mg kg(-1)), than non-affected sites. The concentration of trace element in poplar leaves was positively and significantly correlated with the soil availability for cadmium and zinc, and to a lesser extent for arsenic (log-log relationship). Thus, poplar leaves could be used as biomonitors for soil pollution of Cd and Zn, and moderately for As.
Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología, CSIC, P. O. Box 1052, E-41080, Seville, Spain. pmadejon@irnase.csic.es
Paula
P
Madejón
Teodoro
T
Marañón
José M
JM
Murillo
Brett
B
Robinson
D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis; D001682:Biological Availability; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis; D008345:Manganese / Q000032:analysis; D009532:Nickel / Q000032:analysis; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D032107:Populus / Q000737:chemistry*; D045483:Rivers; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014131:Trace Elements; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D008345:Manganese; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel; D007501:Iron; D015032:Zinc; D001151:Arsenic