Metal accumulation in populations of Calamagrostis epigejos (L.) Roth from diverse anthropogenically degraded sites (SE Europe, Serbia)

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 190; no. 4; pp. 183 - 17
• Main Authors: Ranđelović, Dragana, Jakovljević, Ksenija, Mihailović, Nevena, Jovanović, Slobodan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.04.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accumulation; Anthropogenic factors; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioindicators; Biomonitoring; Calamagrostis; Composition; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental pollution; Environmental science; Flowers & plants; Heavy metal content; Heavy metals; Indicator organisms; Indicator species; Metals; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Plant species; Pollution; Populations; Soil; Soil chemistry; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Translocation; Uptake; Serbia; Anthropogenic pollution; Uptake; Heavy metal; Phytoremediation
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-018-6514-9

Heavy metal accumulation is recognized as a very important global pollution problem in the last decades. Plant species have been recognized as natural bioindicators of environmental pollution, especially the amount of heavy metals in soils. Moreover, only a limited number of plant species can survive in highly contaminated soils. It is also known that metal accumulation can vary greatly among different populations of the same species. This study examines the chemical composition and accumulation potential of the expansive clonal grass Calamagrostis epigejos at five localities exposed to different levels of anthropogenic pressure. Considerable differences were observed between uptake, translocation, and accumulation of total and available heavy metals, such differences corresponding to soil physico-chemical characteristics and the level of site pollution. The results indicate that Calamagrostis epigejos uptakes a significant portion of the available fraction of heavy metals in the soil and stores it in the roots, thereby exhibiting a certain potential for metal phytostabilization.