Zh. Ye et al., ZINC, LEAD AND CADMIUM TOLERANCE, UPTAKE AND ACCUMULATION BY THE COMMON REED, PHRAGMITES-AUSTRALIS (CAV) TRIN EX STEUDEL, Annals of botany, 80(3), 1997, pp. 363-370
Zinc (Zn), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) tolerance in populations of seed
lings of Phragmites australis raised from seeds collected from a mine
site (Plombieres, Belgium) contaminated with Zn, Pb and Cd and three '
clean' sites (Felixstowe, UK; Wisbech, UK; and Mai Po, Hong Kong) were
studied under glasshouse conditions. Small differences were found bet
ween the metal-contaminated population and the three 'clean' populatio
ns when seedlings were grown in 1.0 mu g ml(-1) Zn and 10.0 mu g ml(-1
) Pb treatment solutions. In general, however, different populations o
f seedlings showed similar growth responses, metal uptake and indices
of Zn, Pb and Cd tolerance when cultured in the same metal-contaminate
d media for 89 d or in the same metal treatment solutions (ZnSO4:1.0 a
nd 4.0 mu g ml(-1) Zn; Pb(NO3)(2):10.0 and 25.0 mu g ml(-1) Pb; CdSO4:
0.5 and 1.0 mu g ml(-1) Cd) for 3 weeks. There was insufficient eviden
ce to support the hypothesis that the metal-contaminated population ha
s evolved to a Zn-, Pb- or Cd-tolerant ecotype but the results indicat
ed some differentiation between the populations with that from Hong Ko
ng being the least productive under the experimental conditions used.
The implications of the findings on selection of provenances for use i
n constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment are discussed. (C) 199
7 Annals of Botany Company.