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Abstract

Pteris vittata L. is a well-known As-hyperaccumulator that can accumulate more than 1000 µg g-1 of As. Research on the effect of edaphic influences on the heavy metal(loid)s (HMs) accumulation of P. vittata is unknown and less reported. The heavy metal uptake in plants may be influenced by exogenous factors of soil, such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), etc. This study aims to investigate the association between the heavy metal(loid)s’ accumulation of wild P. vittata populations with the soil physicochemical properties. The samples of fronds were collected randomly from five different habitats and oven-dried; meanwhile, soil samples were air-dried and processed before undergoing further digestion analyses. The N concentrations was analysed using the Kjedahl method while P, K, Ca, Mg, As, Cd, Pb and Cr were analysed using ICP-OES. Soil analyses also involved nutrients and heavy metals analysis with the physicochemical (pH, CEC, EC and soil texture). The results showed that the highest HMs accumulation of P. vittata was As with 1380 ± 140 mg kg-1 , Cd at 41.9 ± 4.19 mg kg-1 , Pb at 7.57 ± 3.68 mg kg-1 and Cr at 3.33 ± 0.57 mg kg-1 . Among the HMs observed, only Pb had significant differences among P. vittata populations (p0.05). Based on the Pearson correlation coefficient (r), there was a negative correlation of foliar As and foliar Cd with soil Cd (p0.05). We conclude that wild P. vittata can absorb high concentrations of As but this uptake was uncoupled with the high concentrations of HMs in the soil. Further research is required to investigate the potential of HMs accumulation in P. vittata and the effect of HMs applications on the growth and physiology of P. vittata under controlled environments.

Keywords

Arsenic hyperaccumulator; heavy metal(loid)s; soil physicochemical; Pteris vittata

Published in

Malaysian Journal Of Soil Science
2025, volume: 29, pages: 427-440

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Soil Science
Horticulture
Botany

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/145367