Phytostabilization is a remediation technology that uses plants for in-situ stabilization of contamination in soils and mine tailings. The objective of this study was to identify native plant species with potential for phytostabilization of the abandoned mine tailings in Nacozari, Sonora in northern Mexico. A flora of 42 species in 16 families of angiosperms was recorded on the tailings site and the abundance of the most common perennial species was estimated. Four of the five abundant perennial species showed evidence of regeneration: the ability to reproduce and establish new seedlings. A comparison of selected physicochemical properties of the tailings in vegetated patches with adjacent barren areas suggests that pH, electrical conductivity, texture, and concentration of potentially toxic elements do not limit plant distribution. For the most abundant species, the accumulation factor for most metals was <1, with the exception of Zn in two species. A short-term experiment on adaptation revealed limited evidence for the formation of local ecotypes in
Prosopis velutina
and
Amaranthus watsonii
. Overall, the results of this study indicate that five native plant species might have potential for phytostabilization of the Nacozari tailings and that seed could be collected locally to revegetate the site. More broadly, this study provides a methodology that can be used to identify native plants and evaluate their phytostabilization potential for similar mine tailings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/624057 |
| Date | 04 May 2017 |
| Creators | Santos, Alina E., Cruz-Ortega, Rocio, Meza-Figueroa, Diana, Romero, Francisco M., Sanchez-Escalante, Jose Jesus, Maier, Raina M., Neilson, Julia W., Alcaraz, Luis David, Molina Freaner, Francisco E. |
| Contributors | Univ Arizona, Dept Soil Water & Environm Sci, Departamento de Ecologia de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Departamento de Ecologia Funcional, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Departamento de Geoquimica, Instituto de Geologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, Herbario USON, Departamento de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnologicas, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of America, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of America, Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, Departamento de Ecologia de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico |
| Publisher | PEERJ INC |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article |
| Rights | © 2017 Santos et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. |
| Relation | https://peerj.com/articles/3280 |
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