Assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of Dongchuan, Southwest China

IntroductionThis study aimed to identify suitable plants for remediating metal pollution in copper tailing soil and supporting ecological reclamation in Dongchuan, Yunnan, focusing on three major mining regions: Tangdan, Yinmin, and Lanniping.MethodsThe Nemerow comprehensive pollution index was empl...

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Main Authors: Lijuan Deng, Min Yin, Shuanglin Yang, Xiaoyun Wang, Juan Chen, Deren Miao, Genshen Yin, Shuhua Zhai, Yuan Su, Cheng Wu, Zhen Ren
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1528723/full
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author Lijuan Deng
Min Yin
Shuanglin Yang
Xiaoyun Wang
Juan Chen
Deren Miao
Genshen Yin
Shuhua Zhai
Yuan Su
Cheng Wu
Zhen Ren
author_facet Lijuan Deng
Min Yin
Shuanglin Yang
Xiaoyun Wang
Juan Chen
Deren Miao
Genshen Yin
Shuhua Zhai
Yuan Su
Cheng Wu
Zhen Ren
author_sort Lijuan Deng
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThis study aimed to identify suitable plants for remediating metal pollution in copper tailing soil and supporting ecological reclamation in Dongchuan, Yunnan, focusing on three major mining regions: Tangdan, Yinmin, and Lanniping.MethodsThe Nemerow comprehensive pollution index was employed to evaluate the metal contamination levels, and the enrichment and transfer capacities of the dominant plants for Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were analyzed to identify remediation candidates.ResultsThe findings revealed severe pollution in the copper tailing soil, with Cu as the primary pollutant, and with a pollution rate of 77.778%. A total of 96 plant species from 42 families and 87 genera were recorded, including 29 dominant species across 17 families and 26 genera, with herbs comprising 62.068% of the dominant types. Among the tested plants, Leucaena leucocephala, Rumex acetosa, Festuca rubra, and Salix balfouriana exhibited significantly higher metal enrichment and transfer capacities, rendering them for ecological restoration. Salix balfouriana with the highest comprehensive membership function score of 5.298 was identified as the preferred species for ecological restoration in the Dongchuan Cu tailing area. Correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between the metal content in underground plant parts and both the total metal content and organic matter (OM) in the rhizosphere soil, whereas a negative correlation was observed with soil pH.DiscussionThe soil in the Dongchuan Cu tailing area is severely contaminated by metals, mainly Cu. Among the identified plants, S. balfouriana emerged as the most suitable candidate for metal accumulation. This study establishes a comprehensive theoretical framework for the application and promotion of phytoremediation technology in the Dongchuan copper tailings area.
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publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-dd259abeb8e04dad9409e48c192446972025-08-20T02:15:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-02-011610.3389/fpls.2025.15287231528723Assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of Dongchuan, Southwest ChinaLijuan Deng0Min Yin1Shuanglin Yang2Xiaoyun Wang3Juan Chen4Deren Miao5Genshen Yin6Shuhua Zhai7Yuan Su8Cheng Wu9Zhen Ren10College of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaSchool of Medicine, Yunnan University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaCollege of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming, ChinaIntroductionThis study aimed to identify suitable plants for remediating metal pollution in copper tailing soil and supporting ecological reclamation in Dongchuan, Yunnan, focusing on three major mining regions: Tangdan, Yinmin, and Lanniping.MethodsThe Nemerow comprehensive pollution index was employed to evaluate the metal contamination levels, and the enrichment and transfer capacities of the dominant plants for Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were analyzed to identify remediation candidates.ResultsThe findings revealed severe pollution in the copper tailing soil, with Cu as the primary pollutant, and with a pollution rate of 77.778%. A total of 96 plant species from 42 families and 87 genera were recorded, including 29 dominant species across 17 families and 26 genera, with herbs comprising 62.068% of the dominant types. Among the tested plants, Leucaena leucocephala, Rumex acetosa, Festuca rubra, and Salix balfouriana exhibited significantly higher metal enrichment and transfer capacities, rendering them for ecological restoration. Salix balfouriana with the highest comprehensive membership function score of 5.298 was identified as the preferred species for ecological restoration in the Dongchuan Cu tailing area. Correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between the metal content in underground plant parts and both the total metal content and organic matter (OM) in the rhizosphere soil, whereas a negative correlation was observed with soil pH.DiscussionThe soil in the Dongchuan Cu tailing area is severely contaminated by metals, mainly Cu. Among the identified plants, S. balfouriana emerged as the most suitable candidate for metal accumulation. This study establishes a comprehensive theoretical framework for the application and promotion of phytoremediation technology in the Dongchuan copper tailings area.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1528723/fullcopper tailingsmetalsphytoremediationSalix balfourianacombined pollution index
spellingShingle Lijuan Deng
Min Yin
Shuanglin Yang
Xiaoyun Wang
Juan Chen
Deren Miao
Genshen Yin
Shuhua Zhai
Yuan Su
Cheng Wu
Zhen Ren
Assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of Dongchuan, Southwest China
Frontiers in Plant Science
copper tailings
metals
phytoremediation
Salix balfouriana
combined pollution index
title Assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of Dongchuan, Southwest China
title_full Assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of Dongchuan, Southwest China
title_fullStr Assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of Dongchuan, Southwest China
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of Dongchuan, Southwest China
title_short Assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of Dongchuan, Southwest China
title_sort assessment of metal residues in soil and evaluate the plant accumulation in copper mine tailings of dongchuan southwest china
topic copper tailings
metals
phytoremediation
Salix balfouriana
combined pollution index
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1528723/full
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