Environmental Science and Pollution Research
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05461-y
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Growth, accumulation and uptake of Eichhornia crassipes exposed
to high cadmium concentrations
Eliana Melignani 1,2
&
Ana María Faggi 3 & Laura Isabel de Cabo 2
Received: 26 November 2018 / Accepted: 14 May 2019
# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract
A greenhouse experiment was performed to evaluate the growth, accumulation, and uptake rate of Eichhornia crassipes subject
to high cadmium concentrations. Three doses of Cd were added to polluted river water (1, 5, and 10 mg Cd/L), and polluted water
with basal Cd concentration (0.070 mg/L) was used as a control. The experiment lasted for 7 days. Signs of stress and toxicity
were visible in all treatments from day 3 of the experiment. The growth of the water hyacinth was slightly stimulated in the
presence of low Cd concentration (1 mg/L), but this could also be due to the chloride and other nutrients present in the polluted
water. Cd was accumulated mainly in roots, showing a maximum concentration of 1742.1 mg Cd/kg dw (10 mg Cd/L). The
translocation from roots to leaves was low, with a maximum accumulation of 147.4 mg Cd/kg dw (10 mg Cd/L). The uptake rate
for roots reached a maximum of 248.7 mg Cd/kg·day while the uptake rate for leaves did not saturate in the range of the studied
concentrations (max. 20.8 mg Cd/kg·day). The water hyacinth showed promising results for the application in the treatment of
Cd-polluted waters given its ability to tolerate high Cd concentrations in the media (up to 10 mg Cd/L) and its capacity for uptake
and accumulation.
Keywords Aquatic plants . Trace elements . Water hyacinth
Introduction
Environmental pollution caused by trace elements has become
a serious issue worldwide. In nature, the mobilization of
metals, such as Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, Cr, Cu, or Ag, in the biogeochemical cycles is minimum. These elements are mainly
Responsible editor: Elena Maestri
* Eliana Melignani
[email protected]
1
Present address: Instituto de Micología y Botánica – Consejo
Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Departamento de
Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias
Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. Int. Güiraldes
2160, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EGA Ciudad Autónoma de
Buenos Aires, Argentina
2
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales BBernardino Rivadavia^ –
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Av.
Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos
Aires, Argentina
3
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Flores, Pedernera 275,
C1406EEF Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
found in reservoirs, but mining extraction and its subsequent
processing for different applications release them to the environment (Ali et al. 2013). Urbanization, industrialization, and
transportation, among other human activities, favor the dispersion of trace elements in the water and the atmosphere
(Nagajyoti et al. 2010).
Cadmium (Cd) is considered a non-essential element
that negatively affects all types of organisms. It is highly
soluble in water and it has been classified as an element
of intermediate toxicity (Sanità di Toppi and Gabbrielli
1999; Benavides et al. 2005). It is frequently used in the
industry of electroplating, pigments, plastic stabilizers,
and batteries, and it is a by-product of phosphate fertilizers (Lux et al. 2011; Gallego et al. 2012; Tran and
Popova 2013). Cadmium alters plant growth and development by interference in the uptake, transport, and use of
various elements (Ca, Mg, P, and K) (Benavides et al.
2005). It reduces the absorption of nitrates and its transport from root to shoot, affecting the water balance in the
plant, and it also has negative effects on membrane phospholipids and photosynthesis metabolism (Sanità di Toppi
and Gabbrielli 1999; Benavides et al. 2005; RodríguezSerrano et al. 2008; Tran and Popova 2013).
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Among the most industrialized and crowded areas in the
world, there is a river located in Argentina that is considered
one of the ten most polluted sites in the world (ECYT-AR
2011; Bernhardt and Gysi 2013). In the metropolitan area of
Buenos Aires, the Matanza-Riachuelo river (MR river), a typical plain river, is subject to strong anthropogenic disturbances
(Gómez 1998), in particular the lower part of the basin, called
BRiachuelo.^ Trace elements are among the most conspicuous
contaminants in water, soil, and sediments in the basin, and
phytoremediation has been proposed as a likely strategy to
decrease this burden (Basílico et al. 2016).
Phytoremediation involves the use of plants to reduce the
concentration or toxic effect of different kind of pollutants
(trace elements, organic compounds, and other xenobiotics)
in the environment. Plants can modify contaminants in a variety of processes (removal, reduction, transformation, mineralization, degradation, etc.). This technology poses many benefits since it is efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally
friendly (Ali et al. 2013). Among the plants that have been
tested for phytoremediation purposes, many floating macrophytes have shown great capacity of tolerance and absorption
of heavy metals. Salvinia (Phetsombat et al. 2006; Dhir and
Srivastava 2011), Lemna (Khellaf and Zerdaoui 2010), Pistia
(Sukumaran 2013), Eichhornia (Rezania et al. 2015), and
Azolla (Sood et al. 2012) are among the most studied genera
(Ali et al. 2013; Dixit et al. 2015; Rezania et al. 2016). Various
species of floating macrophytes have been able to tolerate and
absorb high Cd concentrations (> 1000 mg Cd/kg). Some examples are Limnocharis flava (Abhilash et al. 2009) and
Salvinia cucullata (Phetsombat et al. 2006). In particular, the
water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms has been
extensively studied for its application in phytoremediation and
has shown an interesting capacity for the accumulation and
biosorption of heavy metals (Rezania et al. 2015). Metals,
such as mercury, induce responses of oxidative stress and
DNA damage in E. crassipes (Malar et al. 2015). Also, the
water hyacinth has efficient molecular mechanisms (antioxidative enzymes) to tolerate lead accumulation in their tissues,
indicating that it is a feasible plant for phytoremediation of
polluted water containing lead (Malar et al. 2014).
There are several studies on the effect of cadmium on water
hyacinth, but few of them explore the addition of this metal in
high concentrations in polluted waters (e.g., Soltan and
Rashed 2003; Hasan et al. 2007). We have previously evaluated the accumulation and tolerance of this species to copper,
an essential element, under stressful conditions (Melignani
et al. 2015). Since we obtained promising results, we were
also interested in testing similar conditions for a nonessential element, cadmium. Both the cadmium and the water
hyacinth are present in polluted water bodies with industrial
and domestic effluent discharge. The tolerance described for
this species under this stressful circumstance, could be applied
in the treatment of industrial effluents. Therefore, the objective
of this study was to evaluate the growth of water hyacinth
exposed to high Cd concentrations added to polluted river
water (Riachuelo water), as well as its accumulation and uptake rate in a short-term exposure experiment.
Materials and methods
Plant and water collection
Plant material (water hyacinth, E. crassipes) and the surficial
water for the experiment were sampled from the Riachuelo
section of the MR river (34° 38′ 12″ S, 58° 21′ 05″ W),
Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 2012. The plants were
cleaned with tap water and acclimatized in a hydroponic system (diluted Hoagland solution in a greenhouse with natural
photoperiod) for 2 months. After propagation, individuals of
the second generation were selected for the experiment (April
2012).
Experimental set-up
Cadmium (as CdCl2·2 ½ H2O, analytical-grade reagent) was
added to the river water in three concentrations: 1, 5, and
10 mg/L (treatments Cd1, Cd5, and Cd10, respectively). The
river water without Cd supplement (basal concentration:
0.07 mg/L) was used as a control (Cd0). One or two individuals of water hyacinth (200 g fresh weight) were placed in
plastic reactors with 4 L of the water (3 replicates per treatment and control). The plants were exposed to the metal for
7 days under greenhouse conditions (natural photoperiod,
controlled temperature 22.0 ± 1.9 °C, and pH 7.55 ± 0.24).
The water volume of the reactors was kept constant by adding
deionized water.
Sampling and analysis
At the beginning of the experiment, three individuals of water
hyacinth were separated from the hydroponic system and
three water samples were taken from each treatment in order
to measure initial Cd concentrations (in plant tissue and water)
and initial dry biomass of E. crassipes. At the end of the
experiment, plants and water samples were collected from
each reactor. Plants were washed, separated into roots and
leaves, and oven-dried at 70 °C for 72 h. Then, they were
digested with a mixture of concentrated nitric, perchloric,
and clorhydric acids (10:2:5) (Soltan and Rashed 2003;
Mishra and Tripathi 2008; Melignani et al. 2015). In water
samples, Cd was measured without digestion. The metal was
determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry
(flame-AAS) (detection limit for Cd 0.028 mg/L). Water physicochemical parameters were determined as described by
APHA (1999). The NH4+ concentration was measured in
Environ Sci Pollut Res
water samples and the N-NH3 concentration was estimated
from this measure (NH4+) according to Körner et al. (2001).
Initial concentrations of Cd in water were 100 ± 10% of
nominal concentrations. The initial dry weight of
E. crassipes plants was 1.38 ± 0.12 g (mean ± standard error)
for roots and 1.74 ± 0.13 g for leaves. Initial Cd content in
roots was 1.32 ± 0.03 mg/kg and 1.71 ± 0.16 mg/kg in leaves.
These concentrations of Cd in tissue were below the toxic
limit for this metal (5–10 mg/kg) (White and Brown 2010).
Growth estimation, cadmium translocation
and uptake rate
The parameters for growth estimation and metal translocation
in tissue were calculated as described earlier (Melignani et al.
2015). The relative growth rate (RGR, day−1) was calculated
as: RGR = (ln DWf − ln DWi)/t, where DWf = dry weight at the
end of the experiment (g); DWi = initial dry weight (g); and t =
duration of the experiment (days). The growth stimulation
percentage (GS, %) (modified from the growth inhibition
percentage equation; Park et al. 2011) was estimated as
GS = (RGRt/RGRc − 1) × 100, where RGRt = relative growth
rate for treatment x and RGRc = relative growth rate for respective control. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) was calculated as BCF = Cr/Cw, where Cr = Cd concentration in
roots (mg/kg dw) and Cw = Cd concentration in water
(mg/kg). The translocation factor (TF) was estimated as
TF = Cl/Cr, where Cl = Cd concentration in leaves (mg/kg
dw).
The capacity of E. crassipes for Cd uptake was estimated
as the metal uptake rate for roots or leaves (UR, mg/kg day)
according to Singh and Agrawal (2007): UR = (Cf − Ci)/t,
where Cf = final Cd concentration in biomass (roots or leaves)
(mg/kg dw) and Ci = initial Cd concentration in biomass
(roots or leaves) (mg/kg dw). A functional relation was investigated between the uptake rate and the Cd concentration in
water and a linear regression analysis was performed. Data
were tested for normal distribution (Shapiro–Wilks’ test) and
for homogeneity of variance (Levene’s test). Metal concentrations were scaled when the relation between both variables
was not linear. The test was compared at a level of p < 0.05.
Statistical analysis
Data were statistically analyzed with the ANOVA test.
Normality and homogeneity of variance were checked with
Shapiro–Wilks’ test and Levene’s test, respectively. When the
assumptions were not satisfied, a natural-log transformation of
the data was applied. Tukey’s test was performed to differentiate between treatments. The significance level of comparison
for all tests was p < 0.05.
Results
The physicochemical characteristics of the river water used in
the experiment are shown in Table 1. The level of ammonium
and trace elements (Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb) exceed the national water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life
(National Law No. 24051 on Hazardous Waste) (Argentina
1991). Also, the level of Cd exceeds the international water
quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life (μg Cd/L:
0.15–0.40, DWAFF 1996; 0.06–0.80, ANZECC and
ARMCANZ 2000; 0.09–1.0, CCME 2014; 0.25–2.0,
USEPA 2016). Thus, the water used for this experiment is
considered as polluted.
From the third day of the experiment, leaves and petioles in
all treatments showed loss of turgor. Leaves showed invaginations in their lamina. Chlorosis and dry leaves were also
evident from the third day, but only in treatment Cd10.
Table 1 Initial physicochemical characteristics of Riachuelo water and
reference value (designated use: protection of aquatic life, as stated in the
Argentinian National Law No. 24051 on Hazardous Waste)
Value1
(mg/L)
Reference value2
(mg/L)
55.95
–
13.33
26.78
14.03
0.014
0.18
–
–
1.37
0.06
–
SRP (as orthophosphate)
SO4−2
Micronutrients
1.70
72.30
–
–
Cl
Cu
Fe
Na
Zn
Non-essential heavy metals
Cd
Cr
Ni
Pb
Other physicochemical parameters
Alkalinity (as CO3−2)
TOC (total organic carbon)
DOC (dissolved organic carbon)
pH
255.85
0.033
0.62
150.00
0.073
–
0.002
–
–
–
0.070
0.073
0.17
0.073
0.0002
0.002
0.025
0.001
543.76
15.22
9.52
7.14
–
–
–
–
Parameter
Macronutrients
Ca
K
Mg
N-NH4+
NO2−
NO3−
1
2
Mean of three replicates
Argentinian National Law No. 24051 on Hazardous Waste, Regulatory
Decree No. 831/93, Annex II, Table 2
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Table 2 Dry weight of
E. crassipes roots and leaves,
relative growth rate (RGR) and
growth stimulation percentage
(GS) of plants after 7 days of Cd
exposure
Treatments
Roots (g)
Leaves (g)
RGR (day−1)
GS (%)
Cd0 (control)
Cd1
3.34 ± 1.09 a
3.70 ± 0.63 a
3.50 ± 0.99 a
4.07 ± 0.96 a
0.100 ± 0.009 a
0.121 ± 0.007 b
–
22 ± 4 a
Cd5
1.72 ± 0.36 b
3.54 ± 0.33 a
0.102 ± 0.019 ab
3 ± 12 b
Cd10
1.42 ± 0.67 b
3.52 ± 0.33 a
0.102 ± 0.018 ab
2 ± 12 b
Values expressed as mean (n = 3) ± std. error. Different letters under the same column indicate significant
differences (p < 0.05) among treatments
Cd0 control (no metal addition), Cd1 supplemented with 1 mg Cd/L, Cd5 supplemented with 5 mg Cd/L, Cd10
supplemented with 10 mg Cd/L
Growth estimation
Cadmium uptake rate
Final dry weight of root and leaf biomass, relative growth rates
(RGR) and growth stimulation percentage (GS) are shown in
Table 2. Root biomass was reduced by half in treatments Cd5
and Cd10 (F = 20.65, df = 3, p = 0.0004). In contrast, leaf biomass did not show significant differences from the control in
any treatment (F = 1.20, df = 3, p = 0.3685). The RGR showed
a slight increase in treatment Cd1 (F = 4.44, df = 3, p =
0.0407), consistent with growth stimulation (22%) (F =
10.34, df = 2, p < 0.0114).
The Cd uptake rate for roots and leaves of the water hyacinth
showed different functional relations. The relation between
the uptake rate for roots and the metal concentration in water
adjusted to a logarithmic function, reaching an uptake rate of
248.7 mg Cd/kg·day (Fig. 1) in the concentration range studied. Given that the relation between the variables was logarithmic, the Cd concentrations in water were scaled using a
logarithmic transformation to run the linear regression analysis (functional relation: p < 0.01; lack of adjustment: p = 0.15;
R2 = 0.95). As for leaves, the relation between the uptake rate
and the Cd concentration in water adjusted to a linear function
(Fig. 2). The metal concentrations in leaves adjusted to an
increasing linear function and reached an uptake rate of
20.8 mg Cd/kg·day in the range of the assayed concentrations
(0–10 mg Cd/L).
Cadmium accumulation
Table 3 shows the Cd concentration in roots and leaves, the
bioconcentration factor (BCF) and the translocation factor
(TF). Cd accumulated principally in roots, increasing with
metal concentration in the medium. It seemed to stabilize at
the highest Cd dose (10 mg/L). The maximum concentration
in roots was 1000x that of the control (1742.1 mg Cd/kg dw;
F = 86.83, df = 3, p < 0.0001). Cd accumulation in leaves also
increased with metal concentration in water, although not as
much as in roots. The maximum concentration in leaves was
100× that of the control (147.1 mg Cd/kg dw; F = 108.09,
df = 3, p < 0.0001). BCF were higher in treatments than in
control (max. 1233.9; F = 557.35, df = 3, p < 0.0001), while
TF were lower than unity (TF < 1) (F = 101.40, df = 3,
p < 0.0001) (Table 3).
Table 3 Cd concentration in roots
and leaves, bioconcentration
factor (BCF) and translocation
factor (TF) in E. crassipes after
7 days of metal exposure
Discussion
Contrary to expected, the growth of the water hyacinth was
not severely affected by Cd exposure in the concentration
range studied. Despite the observed toxicity symptoms and
the decrease in root biomass, there was no unfavorable impact
on the RGR. In fact, there was growth stimulation in one of the
treatments (1 mg Cd/L). This growth could also be due to the
presence of chloride (added as CdCl2·2 ½ H2O) and other
nutrients present in the polluted water from Riachuelo river.
Treatments
Cd in roots (mg/kg dw)
Cd in leaves (mg/kg dw)
BCF
Cd0 (control)
Cd1
Cd5
Cd10
1.77
748.4
1580.2
1742.1
1.48
9.73
51.1
147.4
25.2
1233.9
846.3
774.8
±
±
±
±
0.49 a
136.8 b
358.6 c
327.7 c
±
±
±
±
0.83 a
3.02 b
29.2 c
95.5 d
TF
±
±
±
±
7.0 a
333.0 b
149.7 c
82.5 c
0.826
0.013
0.033
0.084
±
±
±
±
0.287 a
0.003 b
0.026 c
0.049 d
Values expressed as mean (n = 3) ± std. error. Different letters under the same column indicate significant
differences (p < 0.05) among treatments
Cd0 control (no metal addition), Cd1 supplemented with 1 mg Cd/L, Cd5 supplemented with 5 mg Cd/L, Cd10
supplemented with 10 mg Cd/L
Environ Sci Pollut Res
300
250
.
200
150
100
50
0
-50
0
2
4
6
Cd concentration (mg/L)
8
10
Fig. 1 Cd uptake rate for roots of E. crassipes in function of Cd
treatments after 7 days of metal exposure. References: error bars =
standard error (mean of three replicates); dash line = functional relation
These results agree with observations for this species in assays
under similar conditions (El-Leboudi et al. 2008; Lu et al.
2004; Hasan et al. 2007) (a summary of the references is
presented in Table 4). A few cases registered growth decrease
at 1 mg Cd/L (Delgado et al. 1993; Smolyakov 2012).
Cd accumulation in the water hyacinth was considerably
high, especially in roots. Cd concentrations in treated roots in
this assay (740–1750 mg Cd/kg dw) exceeded several values
reported for this species under similar conditions (Mazen and
El Maghraby 1997; Soltan and Rashed 2003; El-Leboudi et al.
2008; Aisien et al. 2010). Similar or larger Cd concentrations
in roots were also reported (Muramoto and Oki 1983; Kay
et al. 1984; Lu et al. 2004; Hasan et al. 2007). The
bioconcentration factors obtained in this experiment (774.8–
1233.9) are higher (Lu et al. 2004; Eid et al. 2019) or in the
order (Hasan et al. 2007; Aisien et al. 2010) of the ones reported in bibliography.
25
20
.
15
10
5
0
-5
0
2
4
6
Cd concentration (mg/L)
8
10
Fig. 2 Cd uptake rate for leaves of E. crassipes in function of Cd
treatments after 7 days of metal exposure. References: error bars =
standard error (mean of three replicates); dash line = functional relation
Cd accumulation in leaves was not as high as in roots,
although it showed considerable levels (9.5–150 mg Cd/kg
dw). Many reports indicate higher values of Cd accumulation
in E. crassipes leaves (Muramoto and Oki 1983; Mazen and
El Maghraby 1997; Soltan and Rashed 2003; Hasan et al.
2007). Some authors reported similar values for this species
(Soltan and Rashed 2003; Lu et al. 2004; Hasan et al. 2007;
Aisien et al. 2010). It is possible that the water hyacinth was
not able to translocate large amounts of toxic metals to the
leaves as an exclusion strategy for the protection of the photosynthetic apparatus (Benavides et al. 2005; Kirkham 2006;
Gallego et al. 2012; Tran and Popova 2013). Consistently with
Cd accumulation in leaves, the translocation factor was low in
all treatments (less than one), meaning that Cd remained mostly in roots. This result is consistent with the reported in bibliography for Cd in water hyacinth (Kamari et al. 2017; Eid
et al. 2019).
The pattern of Cd uptake rate for roots obtained in this
experiment was different from that of leaves. The uptake rate
for roots seemed to reach its maximum capacity when Cd
concentration in the medium was 5 mg Cd/L, suggesting that
Cd uptake for E. crassipes roots saturates at this level of Cd in
the medium, under the conditions of this experiment. On the
other hand, the uptake rate for leaves showed an increasing
trend, indicating that Cd concentrations in leaves do not saturate in the concentration range studied and the uptake rate for
leaves has not reached its threshold, under the conditions of
this experiment. Wolverton and McDonald (1978) reported a
similar uptake rate for roots of E. crassipes after 24 h of Cd
exposure (281 mg Cd/kg) and a lower uptake rate for leaves
(6.1 mg Cd/kg) at 0.1 mg Cd/L.
The toxicity effects observed in this experiment (symptoms
of chlorosis, dehydration, and brown color in leaves and petioles) are among the frequent toxicity symptoms in plants due
to Cd exposure. They include inhibition and abnormalities in
general growth, reduction of elongation of shoots and roots,
leaf curling, and chlorosis (Tran and Popova 2013).
Consistently with the results of this experiment, other authors
reported symptoms of chlorosis after 2–4 days (Soltan and
Rashed 2003; Hasan et al. 2007) under similar Cd concentrations. Damage in leaves and petioles was also observed
(O’Keeffe et al. 1984), as well as necrosis (Delgado et al.
1993) and red-brown patches on leaves and stunted stems
(Davis et al. 1978).
Some authors reported reaching the threshold of symptom
toxicity for E. crassipes in the culture medium at 1 mg Cd/L
(Hasan et al. 2007). White and Brown (2010) informed an
accumulation of 5–10 mg Cd/kg dw as the critical leaf concentration of Cd in crop plants, that is, above which yield
decreases 10%. Although the phytotoxic signs were visible
in all treatments, the Cd concentrations bioaccumulated during this experiment, both in roots and leaves, exceeded these
limits (9–1750 mg Cd/kg dw).
Table 4 Results obtained in this study in contrast with similar assays reported in bibliography for E. crassipes (unless stated otherwise). References: * = approximate value (taken from figure); DW = dry
weight; FW = fresh weight; m = metal mixture; i = 1/TF
Location
Duration Cd in roots Cd in aerial
UR roots
Studied
(days) (mg/kg)
tissue (mg/kg) (mg/
metal
kg·day)
dose
(mg Cd/L)
RGR
BCF
TF
Reference
Loss of turgor and
invaginations in leaves (3 d)
Loss of turgor and
invaginations in leaves (3 d)
Loss of turgor, invaginations in
leaves and chlorosis (3 d)
Red-brown patches on leaves and
stunted stems
0.102
774.8
0.084
Present study
0.102
846.3
0.033
Present study
0.121
1233.9
0.013
Present study
-
550–700*
-
-
Productivity drastically
reduced
DW increase
-
-
Aisien et al. 2010
Davis et al. 1978
(Hordeum
vulgare)
Delgado et al. 1993
3.06–5.66
-
El-Leboudi et al.
2008
650–675
(16 d)
662 (16 d)
-
-
Hasan et al. 2007
-
Hasan et al. 2007
Kay et al. 1984
-
Kay et al. 1984
-
Lu et al. 2004
-
Lu et al. 2004
-
Mazen & El
Maghraby 1997
Muramoto & Oki
1983
Muramoto & Oki
1983
O’Keeffe et al. 1984
Argentina 10
7
1742.1
147.4
248.7
20.8
Argentina 5
7
1580.2
51.1
225.6
7.05
Argentina 1
7
748.4
9.73
106.7
1.15
Nigeria
UK
1
0.5
7
23
470–540* 60–90*
15
-
-
Spain
5
24
-
-
-
Necrosis
Egypt
1.25
5–10
5.66–7.08 4.04–4.82
-
-
Yellowish coloration and
relatively sluggish leaf growth
India
4-6
6–8
1590–2117 700–940
-
-
Leaf chlorosis (4 d)
-
India
USA
1
5
6–8
21–42
401–491 103.6–148.6
5776–6507 229–431
-
-
USA
1
21–42
1258–1311 57–94
-
-
Thailand
4
8
2044
113.2
-
-
Poor root development and leaf
chlorosis (10 d)
Poor root development and leaf
chlorosis (10 d)
-
Thailand
1
8
450*
18*
-
-
-
Egypt
15
10
700*
350*
-
-
-
80% growth reduction and
RGR decrease (21 d)
> 60% growth reduction and 80% RGR reduction (21 d)
Growth decrease
540*
(whole
plant)
410*
(whole
plant)
-
Japan
4
8
2380
632
-
-
-
FW decrease
-
-
Japan
1
8
1190
157
-
-
-
FW increase
-
-
USA
Russia
1–100
0.05
3
8
56–260
18–70
-
-
Leaf and stem damage
Root shedding
Growth decrease
Egypt
10m
7
635
485
-
-
1000*-5200 3-4*i (= Smolyakov 2012
0.25-0.33)
60*
-
-
Environ Sci Pollut Res
UR leaves Visual symptoms
(mg/kg·day)
125*
600*
-
-
-
Soltan & Rashed,
2003
Soltan & Rashed,
2003
Soltan & Rashed,
2003
Wolverton &
McDonald 1978
1.5*i (=
0.66)
6.5*i (=
0.15)
20.5*i (=
0.048)
6.1
1
39.1–281
6.1
281
0.01–0.1
USA
615
30
10
1m
Egypt
95
8
5m
Egypt
630
The water hyacinth E. crassipes showed interesting results
regarding its capacity to accumulate and tolerate Cd, a nonessential element, in tissues beyond the toxicity limit estimated for this element, without major impact on growth parameters. The results suggest that the water hyacinth is able to
tolerate the metal in its roots, while it excludes Cd from the
leaves. Thus, E. crassipes showed a very satisfactory performance regarding Cd incorporation from polluted stream water
supplemented with Cd in doses above the threshold toxicity
for plants in the culture medium. Several rivers in the
Pampean region (Castañé et al. 1998; Magdaleno et al.
2001; Magdaleno et al. 2014) receive industrial effluents containing Cd concentrations above the legal discharge limits
(0.1 mg/L) (ACUMAR 2017). Therefore, these are promising
results for the application of the water hyacinth in treatments
of industrial effluents and leaching of open air dump where
batteries and electronic devices are discarded.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Cristian Weigandt
for the determinations of heavy metals and Carlos Hernández for the
assistance in the greenhouse.
Compliance with ethical standards
Duration Cd in roots Cd in aerial
UR roots
Studied
(days) (mg/kg)
tissue (mg/kg) (mg/
metal
kg·day)
dose
(mg Cd/L)
-
Yellow leaves (2 d); partial
wilting (10 d)
Yellow leaves (4 d)
-
Reference
BCF
Conclusions
Funding This study was funded by the Agencia Nacional de Promoción
Científica y Tecnológica, Argentina (PICT 00-356) and Consejo Nacional
de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina (PIP 0323).
Location
Table 4 (continued)
UR leaves Visual symptoms
(mg/kg·day)
RGR
TF
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interests.
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