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Potential Hazardous Elements Accumulation in Plants
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Potential Hazardous Elements Accumulation in Plants

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 4040

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Sabina Rossini Oliva

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Guest Editor
Department of Plant Biology, ‘Environmental Analytical Chemistry’ Group, University of Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012 Seville, Spain
Interests: plant response to abiotic stress; plant resistance/tolerance to heavy metals; phytoremediation; plant-soil relationships
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Maria Manuela Abreu

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Guest Editor
Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Research Center, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: phytoremediation of contaminated sites; potential hazardous elements in soil/plant systems; in situ remediation low cost techniques for mine wastes/degraded soils recovery by using Technosols and tolerant plants (spontaneous and non-accumulator edible plants)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paula Madejón

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Sevilla, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain
Interests: soil science; soil fertility; environmental science; phytoremediation of contaminated sites

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit short communications, research, or review articles to the Special Issue entitled “Potential hazardous elements accumulation in plants”

Contamination of soil, water and air is a serious problem all over the words. Organic and inorganic pollutants are detrimental to animals, plants and human health after long-term exposure. With increasing anthropic activities potentially toxic elements can reach a level that can affect not only plant growth and survival, but also the ecosystems. Plants possess different strategies to cope with high levels of pollutants. To achieve a comprehensive environmental risk assessment and promote the development of a vegetation cover in degraded and contaminated environments, advancing knowledge of the potentially toxic elements accumulation in plants, as well as the mechanism to cope with contamination is necessary.

Prof. Dr. Sabina Rossini Oliva
Prof. Dr. Maria Manuela Abreu
Dr. Paula Madejón
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • metals
  • toxicity
  • tolerance
  • abiotic
  • human health

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 2135 KiB  
Article
Physiological Response of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Grown on Technosols Designed for Soil Remediation
by Mateo González-Quero, Antonio Aguilar-Garrido, Mario Paniagua-López, Carmen García-Huertas, Manuel Sierra-Aragón and Begoña Blasco
Plants 2024, 13(22), 3222; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13223222 - 16 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1033
Abstract
This study focuses on the physiological response of lettuce grown on Technosols designed for the remediation of soils polluted by potentially harmful elements (PHEs: As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn). Lettuce plants were grown in five treatments: recovered (RS) and polluted soil [...] Read more.
This study focuses on the physiological response of lettuce grown on Technosols designed for the remediation of soils polluted by potentially harmful elements (PHEs: As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn). Lettuce plants were grown in five treatments: recovered (RS) and polluted soil (PS) as controls, and three Technosols (TO, TS, and TV) consisting of 60% PS mixed with 2% iron sludge, 20% marble sludge, and 18% organic wastes (TO: composted olive waste, TS: composted sewage sludge, and TV: vermicompost of garden waste). The main soil properties and PHE solubility were measured, together with physiological parameters related to phytotoxicity in lettuce such as growth, photosynthetic capacity, oxidative stress, and antioxidant defence. All Technosols improved unfavourable conditions of PS (i.e., neutralised acidity and enhanced OC content), leading to a significant decrease in Cd, Cu, and Zn mobility. Nevertheless, TV was the most effective as the reduction in PHEs mobility was higher. Furthermore, lettuce grown on TV and TO showed higher growth (+90% and +41%) than PS, while no increase in TS. However, lower oxidative stress and impact on photosynthetic rate occurred in all Technosols compared to PS (+344% TV, +157% TO, and +194% TS). This physiological response of lettuce proves that PHE phytotoxicity is reduced by Technosols. Thus, this ecotechnology constitutes a potential solution for soil remediation, with effectiveness of Technosols depending largely on its components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potential Hazardous Elements Accumulation in Plants)
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15 pages, 1418 KiB  
Article
Unveiling the Behavior of an Endangered Facultative Cuprophyte Coincya Species in an Abandoned Copper Mine (Southeast Portugal)
by Ana Delaunay Caperta, Filipa Couchinho, Ana Cortinhas and Maria Manuela Abreu
Plants 2024, 13(20), 2847; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13202847 - 11 Oct 2024
Viewed by 870
Abstract
Plant–soil interactions of endangered species with a high-priority conservation status are important to define in situ and ex situ conservation and restoration projects. The threatened endemic Coincya transtagana, thriving in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, can grow in metalliferous soils. The [...] Read more.
Plant–soil interactions of endangered species with a high-priority conservation status are important to define in situ and ex situ conservation and restoration projects. The threatened endemic Coincya transtagana, thriving in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, can grow in metalliferous soils. The main goal of this study was to investigate the behavior of this species in soils rich in potentially toxic elements in the abandoned Aparis Cu mine. Soil samples were characterized for physicochemical properties and multielemental composition, as well as biological activity, through an analysis of enzymatic activities. Plant biomass was assessed, and multielemental analysis of the plants was also performed. The mine soils had slightly basic pH values and were non-saline and poor in mineral N-NH4, with medium-to-high organic matter concentration and medium cation-exchange capacity. In these soils, dehydrogenase had the highest activity, whereas protease had the lowest activity. The total concentrations of Cu (1.3–5.9 g/kg) and As (37.9–118 mg/kg) in soils were very high, and the available fraction of Cu in the soil also had high concentration values (49–491 mg/kg). Moreover, this study shows for the first time that C. transtagana had high uptake and translocation capacities from roots to shoots for Cu, Ni, and Cr. Although Cu in the plants’ aerial parts (40–286 mg/kg) was considered excessive/toxic, no signs of plant toxicity disorders or P uptake reduction were detected. This preliminary study revealed that C. transtagana is Cu-tolerant, and it could be used for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with potentially toxic elements, while also contributing to its conservation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potential Hazardous Elements Accumulation in Plants)
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20 pages, 838 KiB  
Article
Phytoremediation Potential of Crotalaria pumila (Fabaceae) in Soils Polluted with Heavy Metals: Evidence from Field and Controlled Experiments
by Miguel Santoyo-Martínez, Patricia Mussali-Galante, Isela Hernández-Plata, Leticia Valencia-Cuevas, Alexis Rodríguez, María Luisa Castrejón-Godínez and Efraín Tovar-Sánchez
Plants 2024, 13(14), 1947; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13141947 - 16 Jul 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1405
Abstract
Phytoremediation is a useful, low-cost, and environmentally friendly alternative for the rehabilitation of heavy-metal-contaminated (HM) soils. This technology takes advantage of the ability of certain plant species to accumulate HMs in their tissues. Crotalaria pumila is a herbaceous plant with a wide geographical [...] Read more.
Phytoremediation is a useful, low-cost, and environmentally friendly alternative for the rehabilitation of heavy-metal-contaminated (HM) soils. This technology takes advantage of the ability of certain plant species to accumulate HMs in their tissues. Crotalaria pumila is a herbaceous plant with a wide geographical distribution that grows naturally in environments polluted with HMs. In this work, the bioaccumulation capacity of roots and leaves in relation to five HMs (Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn) was evaluated, as well as the morphological changes presented in C. pumila growing in control substrate (without HMs) and mine-tailing substrate (with HMs) under greenhouse conditions for 150 days. Four metals with the following concentration pattern were detected in both tissues and substrates: Fe > Pb > Cu > Zn. Fe, Pb, and Zn concentrations were significantly higher in the roots and leaves of individuals growing on mine-tailing substrate compared to the control substrate. In contrast, Cu concentration increased over time in the exposed individuals. The bioconcentration factor showed a similar pattern in root and leaf: Cu > Fe > Pb > Zn. Around 87.5% of the morphological characters evaluated in this species decreased significantly in individuals exposed to HMs. The bioconcentration factor shows that C. pumila is efficient at absorbing Cu, Fe, and Pb from the mine-tailing substrate, in the root and leaf tissue, and the translocation factor shows its efficiency in translocating Cu from the roots to the leaves. Therefore, C. pumila may be considered as a HM accumulator plant with potential for phytoremediation of polluted soils with Cu, Pb, and Fe, along with the ability to establish itself naturally in contaminated environments, without affecting its germination rates. Also, it exhibits wide geographical distribution, it has a short life cycle, exhibits rapid growth, and can retain the mine-tailing substrate, extracting HMs in a short time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potential Hazardous Elements Accumulation in Plants)
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