Article Abstract

Volume 26, No. (3), 2016 (June)
PHYTO-ASSESSMENT OF SOIL HEAVY METAL ACCUMULATION IN TROPICAL GRASSES
C. C. Ng,S. H. Law, N. B.Amru,M. R. Motior and B. A. Mhd Radzi

C. C. Ng1*,S. H. Law1, N. B.Amru1,M. R. Motior1,2and B. A. Mhd Radzi3

1Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2Department of Plant Agriculture, Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
3Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Corresponding Author: chuckz89@gmail.com
DOI: NA
Page Number(s): 686-696
Published Online First: June 01, 2016
Publication Date: June 01, 2016
ABSTRACT

Tropical grasses are fast growing and often used for phytoremediation. Three different types of tropical grasses: Vetiver (V. zizanoides), Imperata (I. cylindrical) and Pennisetum (P. purpureum) tested in different growth media of spiked heavy metal contents under the glasshouse environment of RimbaIlmu for 60-day. The growth performance, metals tolerance and phyto-assessment of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in shoots and roots were assessed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).Tolerance index (TI), translocation factor (TF), biological accumulation coefficient (BAC), biological concentration factor (BCF), and uptake efficacy was applied to evaluate the metal translocation ability among all three grasses. All three grasses showed significantly higher (p<0.05) accumulation of the total heavy metals in the spiked metal treatment compared with other tested treatments. Vetiver accumulated remarkably higher total concentration of Cd (93.08 ± 3.81 mg/kg) and Zn (1284.00 ± 234.83 mg/kg) than both Imperata and Pennisetum. The overall trend of heavy metals accumulation for all three grasses followed the order of Zn >Pb> Cd >Cu. The results of study suggested that both Imperata and Pennisetum are commendable and potential phytoextractors for Zn as well as phytostabilizers for Cd, Pb and Cu, respectively.

Keywords: Vetiver; Imperata; Pennisetum; Spiked heavy metal; Heavy metal accumulation

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Journal Impact Factor: 0.5 | (JCR Year: 2025) | Cite Score: 1.3

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Print ISSN: 1018-7081

Electronic ISSN: 2309-8694

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