L. Leita et al., HEAVY-METAL CONTENT IN XYLEM SAP (VITIS-VINIFERA) FROM MINING AND SMELTING AREAS, Environmental monitoring and assessment, 50(2), 1998, pp. 189-200
No data are available on the content of heavy metals in the xylem sap
of grapevines growing in contaminated areas. The aim of this work was
to obtain data on the concentration of Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu in the xylem
sap of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cultivar Monica (ungrafted), growing
near contaminated sites: a smelter, an abandoned and an active mine,
and to investigate relationships between xylem sap mineral composition
and the heavy metal content of the soil. The concentrations of Pb, Zn
, Cd and Cu in the sap were enhanced compared to that of the soil, ran
ging from 4.3 to 611.4 mu g Pb g(d.wt.)(-1), 801 to 6176 mu g Zn g(d.w
t.)(-1), 2.5 to 45 mu g Cd g(d.wt.)(-1) and 19.8 to 161 mu g Cu g(d.wt
.)(-1). Dry matter of xylem sap was significantly related to the heavy
metals content in xylem saps, but no significant relationship between
the metals in sap and total and DTPA/TEA extractable metal fraction i
n soil was found.