Abstract
Salt marshes are capable of mitigating metal pollution in coastal environments, yet the efficacy of this remediation is contingent upon various environmental factors and the plant species involved. This study investigates the influence of different anthropogenic activities, including industrial, urban, recreational (in an insular area), and dredging operations, on the bioaccumulation of eight metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) within Spartina alterniflora Loisel. in the Patos Lagoon estuary, Brazil. The research aims to assess the pattern of metal bioaccumulation and distribution within the plant's leaves, stems, and roots while also examining metal presence in the sediment. Our main findings reveal that S. alterniflora exhibited elevated metal levels in its plant structure directly related with the metal concentrations in the surrounding sediment, which, in turn, is related to the different anthropogenic activities. The industrial area presented the highest metal levels in sediment and plant sections, followed by dredging, insular, and urban areas. This same pattern was mirrored for the bioconcetration factors (BCF), with the BCFs consistently indicating active metal bioaccumulation across all areas and for most of the metals. This provides evidence of the metal bioaccumulation pattern in S. alterniflora, with elevated BCFs in areas affected by activities with a higher degree of impact. Translocation factors (TF) showed varying metal mobility patterns within the plant's below-ground and above-ground sections across the different areas, with only Hg exhibiting consistent translocation across all study areas. Zn was the primary metal contributor in all plant sections, followed by Pb and Cu. It is worth noting that Pb is a non-essential metal for this plant, highlighting the relationship between elevated Pb contributions in the plant sections and the bioaccumulation of this metal within the plant's structure. Overall, this study emphasizes the bioaccumulation capacity of S. alterniflora and elucidate the intrinsic connection between different anthropogenic activities and their impact on the resultant availability and bioaccumulation of metals by this salt marsh plant.
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This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – Research Productivity Fellowship, Grant 310856/2020-5 (FMRSJ) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), Grant 21/2551-0001981-6.
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Laura Lemons Moreira: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Roles/Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing. Ronan Adler Tavella: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Roles/Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing. Alicia da Silva Bonifácio: Conceptualization; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Writing – review & editing. Rodrigo de Lima Brum: Conceptualization; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Writing – review & editing. Livia da Silva Freitas: Conceptualization; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Writing – review & editing. Niely Galeão da Rosa Moraes: Conceptualization; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Writing – review & editing. Maria Laura Fiasconaro: Conceptualization; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Writing – review & editing. Paula Florencio Ramires: Conceptualization; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Writing – review & editing. Julia Oliveira Penteado: Conceptualization; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Writing – review & editing. Paulo Roberto Martins Baisch: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Supervision; Visualization; Writing – review & editing. Flavio Manoel Rodrigues da Silva Júnior: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Supervision; Visualization; Writing – review & editing.
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Moreira, L.L., Tavella, R.A., da Silva Bonifácio, A. et al. Bioaccumulation of metals in Spartina alterniflora salt marshes in the estuary of the World’s Largest Choked Lagoon. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 26880–26894 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32810-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32810-3