Potential Phytoremediator of Native Species in Soils Contaminated by Heavy Metals in the Garbage Dump Quitasol-Imponeda Abancay

Abstract

Discarding waste in open spaces, commonly called dumps, is highly damaging to the environment. High concentrations of heavy metals are observed, which creates the need to carry out restoration processes in such places. The use of plants for the remediation of soils contaminated by heavy metals in the garbage dump, is a strategy. The work was carried out in the garbage dump of Quitasol-Imponeda de Abancay, with three native plant species. The objective was to evaluate the levels of contamination by the heavy metals: lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium and zinc in the waste matrix in root, stem and leaves. A complete factorial design was applied: three species and five treatments with heavy metals, each with two repetitions applied and in three selected plots (A, B, C). The results show that the highest accumulation of zinc, lead and cadmium was obtained in Amaranthus hybridus, with 23.03 parts per million in the root, 5.87 parts per million in the stem and 8.83 parts per million in the leaves, in plots two and three. In Brassica rapa, the highest values of accumulation were recorded for zinc, lead and cadmium in the roots, and showed a decrease in leaf growth and stem thickness. Amaranthus spinosus obtained higher values of zinc accumulation of 24.28 parts per million in the roots and in leaves, zinc 11.63 parts per million, lead 1.74 parts per million and cadmium 0.55 parts per million. It is concluded that the three native species present rapid growth, do not require chemical controls, with absorption of high levels of heavy metals, becoming an alternative for the restoration of the garbage dump, due to its high phytoremediation potential.

Keywords

• Garbage dump
• Heavy metals contamination
• Phytoremediation potential
• Native plant species
• Amaranthus spinosus
• Brassica rapa
• Amaranthus hybridus.