An Abandoned Copper Mining Site in Cyprus and Assessment of Metal Concentrations in Plants and Soil

Abstract

Mining is an important source of metal pollution in the environment and abandoned mines are extremely restricted habitats for plants. Some plant species growing on metalliferous soils around mine tailings and spoil-heaps are metal-tolerant and accumulate high concentrations of metals. In this investigation, we aimed to perform a research in the CMC-abandoned copper mining area in Lefke-North Cyprus to assess the recent metal pollution in soil and plant systems. We collected 16 soil samples and 25 plant species from 8 localities around the vicinity of tailing ponds. Some concentrations of metals in soil samples varied from 185 to 1023 mg kg⁻¹ Cu, 15.2 to 59.2 mg kg⁻¹ Ni, 2.3 to 73.6 mg kg⁻¹ Cd and metals for plants ranged from 0.135 to 283 mg kg⁻¹ Cu, 0.26 to 31.2 mg kg⁻¹ Ni, 0.143 to 277 mg kg⁻¹ Cd. Atriplex semibaccata, Acacia cyanophylla, Erodium spp., Inula viscosa, Juncus sp., Oxalis pes-caprea, Pistacia lentiscus, Senecio vulgaris and Tragopogon sinuatus accumulated higher concentrations. BCF for Atriplex semibaccata was found very high, for this reason this plant can tentatively be considered as a hyperaccumulator of Cu and Cd, but it needs further investigation for its potential in phytoremediation.

Keywords::

• abandoned mines
• metal accumulation
• soil
• plant
• phytoremediation

Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to Prof. Dr. K. Alpinar for his collaboration in plant identifications; to S. Balkan Guran for arranging field trips in the North Cyprus Turkish Republic and for supporting the CMC mining area diagram from Lefke University; to Assoc. Prof. Dr. T. Ozcan for his scientific advise; to S. Ergenc for their laboratory assistance; and finally to Lindsey & William More for their kind help in proof reading the English text.