Selection of Plants for Zinc and Lead Phytoremediation

Abstract

This article describes a laboratory scale experiment of phytoremediation that has the aim to identify a vegetable species that is able to survive to the high metal concentration of soil taken from Montevecchio, Sardinia, and verify how metal content in soil can influence phytoextraction performances. The experiments allowed finding a plant (Festuca arundinacea) that is able to tolerate Montevecchio soil and to accumulate high quantities of Zinc in the shoots and to evaluate Helichrysum italicum and Mirabilis jalapa performances in zinc and lead phytoextraction.

Keywords:

• Festuca arundinacea
• Heavy metals
• Helichrysum italicum
• Mining activity
• Mirabilis jalapa
• Phytoremediation

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Gavino Brau, who assisted in performing experiments and Martina Piredda for laboratory analyses.