J. Bech et al., ARSENIC AND HEAVY-METAL CONTAMINATION OF SOIL AND VEGETATION AROUND ACOPPER MINE IN NORTHERN PERU, Science of the total environment, 203(1), 1997, pp. 83-91
At present, very little information is available on either the environ
mental impact or the biogeochemistry of mine sites in Latin America. H
ere we present preliminary results on contamination of soils and plant
s around a copper mine in the Andes of Northern Peru. Plants and soils
were sampled at six sites ranging from low (S1) to high phytotoxicity
(S6); samples were analysed for concentrations of As and heavy metals
. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used in order to determine
the soil factors that significantly influenced As and metal availabil
ity. High As and Cu concentrations in soil extracts (ammonium acetate-
EDTA), in addition to low pH and high Al availability, seem to be the
most important soil factors that limit plant performance around the mi
ne. A high organic matter content favoured Cu and Al extractability. N
evertheless, phytotoxicity was more intense at sites with low organic
matter concentrations. Unusually high concentrations of As and metal c
oncentrations were detected in leaves of some species (e.g. in Bidens
cynapiifolia up to 1430 mu g/g dry wt. As, 437 Zn, 620 Cu, 6510 Al and
5.7% Fe) while others (e.g. Eriochloa ramosa) more effectively restri
cted metal transport to the shoots. These plant species seem interesti
ng for future investigations on both metal tolerance mechanisms and re
vegetation of contaminated soils at the numerous mine sites located at
high altitudes in equatorial regions. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.