ISHS Acta Horticulturae 639: XXVI International Horticultural Congress: Expanding Roles for Horticulture in Improving Human Well-Being and Life Quality
USING WILD AND CULTIVATED PLANTS TO REMOVE POLLUTANTS IN SOILS CONTAMINATED BY THE TOXIC SPILL OF THE AZNALCÓLLAR MINE (SEVILLE, SOUTHERN SPAIN) |
| Authors: | M. Del Río, R. Font, R. Montoro, D. Velez, A. De Haro |
| Keywords: | phytoremediation, Guadiamar river, Amaranthus blitoides, Brassica carinata, Brassica juncea |
| Abstract:
On 25 April 1998, the failure of a tailing pond dam in the pyrite mine of Aznalcóllar (SW Spain), released a toxic spill of approximately 45 x 105 m3 that affected the Agrio and Guadiamar River basins. After physically removing the sediments the soils remained polluted by trace metals such as Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Tl and As. Our objective was to assess the phytoextraction potential of wild and cultivated species for using in the phytoremediation of the polluted soils in the Guadiamar River area. Periodical field surveys have been made in the affected land to identify the metal tolerant species that are spontaneously growing in the soils. Among the ninety nine different plant species studied, Amaranthus blitoides, Chamaemelum fuscatum, Lavatera cretica, Cynodon dactylon, Anchusa azurea, Erodium aethiopicum, Convolvulus arvensis, Malva nicaeensis and Beta vulgaris have been selected to be used in the remediation of the affected area by the Aznalcóllar mine spill. We have also tested the capacity of 84 accessions of Brassica carinata and 123 accessions of Brassica juncea for uptaking heavy metals when grown in the affected area. Both species were tolerant to the contamination of soils, and several accessions have been selected to be used for phytoremediation for their efficiency in accumulating various pollutants. | |
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