Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate pollution caused by Jeddah City sewage water discharge on the Red Sea coastal soil and the accumulation of heavy metals in the naturally growing plants: Suaeda aegyptiaca Forssk. , Zygophyllum album L. and Cypersus jeminicus Rottb. Metal accumulation in the polluted water, soil, and plants was compared with those parameters in an unpolluted coastal site,30 km south of Jeddah City. The results indicated a significantly high accumulation of metals in seawater, soil, and plants of the polluted site compared to the unpolluted site. Macro – elements Ca, Na, Mg, K and P, and microelements (a heavy and toxic metal ) especially Fe, Al, Zn, and Mn were significantly high dominating all other elements. The three species differed in the elements they accumulated, and all of them accumulated more than one element. The different plant parts ( leaves, stems, roots ) differed in the magnitude of the metals they accumulated. Suaeda aegyptiaca Forssk. accumulated 7 elements Zn, Cu, Mn, Cr, Ni, Ba, Al, and Zygophyllum album L. accumulated 9 elements, Zn, Mn, Cu, Ag, Co, Al, Ba, Ni, and Cr, while Cyperus jeminicus Rottb. accumulated only 3 elements, Zn, Mn, and Ag. These three species may be considered hyperaccumulators to Zn, Ni, and Al metals. According to this study, these three species can be used as phytoremediation to soils polluted with heavy metals.
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