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Response of Vetiveria zizanioides to the stress of water-soluble components of heavy metals in contaminated soil
Received:September 22, 2019  
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KeyWord:heavy metals;combined pollution;Vetiveria zizanioides;translocation factor
Author NameAffiliationE-mail
SONG Qing-mei South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, China  
CAI Xin-de South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, China  
WU Ying-xin South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, China  
WU Jia-hui South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, China  
CHEN Xian-bin South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, China  
WU Wen-cheng South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, China wuwencheng@scies.org 
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Abstract:
      This study investigated the response of vetiver grass(Vetiveria zizanioides)to the stress of water-soluble components of heavy metals in contaminated soil at a time scale. Seed germination and hydroponic experiments were conducted to simulate the effects of the water-soluble components of Pb and Cu in contaminated soil on seed germination, seedling growth, and heavy metal accumulation of vetiver. Results showed that the water-soluble components of Pb and Cu significantly reduced the root length, shoot height, fresh weight, and dry weight of the vetiver seedlings. Among the affected growth indexes, the inhibitory effect was most significant on the root length, which was as much as 43.6% shorter than in the control on the 60th day. The metal tolerance index(MTI)of the vetiver seedlings increased with the growth time and reached 70.2% on the 60th day. Furthermore, Pb and Cu were significantly absorbed and enriched by the vetiver seedlings; they were mainly accumulated in the roots, with a translocation factor(TF)as low as 0.02 and 0.10 for Pb and Cu, respectively. The maximum accumulations of Pb and Cu in the roots were 763 mg·kg-1 and 235 mg·kg-1, respectively, indicating that vetiver tends to accumulate metals in its roots instead of its shoots. Thus, it was determined that the tolerance of vetiver seedlings to water-soluble components of heavy metals increases with the growth time, suggesting their great potential for metal phytostabilization.