abstract
Plants from Cistus genus show a great plasticity and are able to grow both in contaminated and non-contaminated soils. Cistus salviifolius L was identified in several mines from Portuguese Iberian Pyrite Belt (PIPB) while Cistus populifolius L was collected in 2009 in Chanca and Caveira mines for the first time. In these mine areas, a hybrid of both species Cistus x hybridus Pourr. was also collected being this its first report from those areas. This study aimed to compare the biogeochemical behavior of the three Cistus species growing in the polymetallic mine areas of Caveira, Chanca and Sao Domingos (PIPB). Their possible use in phytoremediation programs of multielemental contaminated soils was evaluated. Soils from Caveira and Sao Domingos presented high concentrations of various chemical elements and were considered seriously contaminated with As (13-3030 mg/kg), Cu (159-1750 mg/kg), Pb (932-9210 mg/kg) and Sb (23-486 mg/kg), and with severe contamination of Zn (33-1010 mg/kg). Chanca soils presented the lowest trace elements contamination. The three species showed tolerance to moderate acid soils (4.2
keywords
IBERIAN PYRITE BELT; SAO-DOMINGOS MINE; MINING AREAS; ENVIRONMENTAL-IMPACT; DEGRADED SOILS; LADANIFER; POLLUTION; PORTUGAL; METALS; ARSENIC(III)
subject category
Geochemistry & Geophysics
authors
Abreu, MM; Santos, ES; Magalhaes, MCF; Fernandes, E
our authors
Erika da Silva dos Santos
Post-Doc Fellowship
Maria Clara Ferreira Magalhães
Emeritus Professoracknowledgements
We would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for financial research support of CICECO-Centro de Investigacao em Materiais Ceramicos e Compositos (Program Pest-C/CTM/LA0011/2011) and UIQA-Unidade de Investigacao Quimica Ambiental.