title: Synchrotron micro-scale measurement of metal distributions in Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia root tissue from an urban brownfield site.
abstract: Liberty State Park in New Jersey, USA, is a "brownfield" site containing various levels of contaminants. To investigate metal uptake and distributions in plants on the brownfield site, Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia were collected in Liberty State Park during the growing season (May-September) in 2011 at two sites with the high and low metal loads, respectively. The objective of this study was to understand the metal (Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb and Zn) concentration and spatial distributions in P. australis and T. latifolia root systems with micro-meter scale resolution using synchrotron X-ray microfluorescence (μXRF) and synchrotron X-ray computed microtomography (μCMT) techniques. The root structure measurement by synchrotron μCMT showed that high X-ray attenuation substance appeared in the epidermis. Synchrotron μXRF measurement showed that metal concentrations and distributions in the root cross-section between epidermis and vascular tissue were statistically different. Significant correlations were found between metals (Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn) and Fe in the epidermis, implying that metals were scavenged by Fe oxides. The results from this study suggest that the expression of metal transport and accumulation within the root systems may be element specific. The information derived from this study can improve our current knowledge of the wetland plant ecological function in brownfield remediation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA. Electronic address: fengh@mail.montclair.edu.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Urban Forestry Program, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors.forename: Lizhong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Biological, Environmental and Climate Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Changjun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Biological, Environmental and Climate Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Keith W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Photon Sciences Directorate, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tappero
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism*; D009515:New Jersey; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism*; D006109:Poaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D017356:Synchrotrons; D032401:Typhaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D007501:Iron
keywords: Brownfield; Phragmites australis; Synchrotron radiation technique; Trace metals; Typha latifolia