STRATEGIES OF HEAVY METAL UPTAKE BY DIFFERENT PLANT FUNCTIONAL GROUPS

Abstract

The aim of this work was to screen several plant species for chromium accumulation by measuring the metal uptake capacity relation with ecophysiological functional types of plants. The main grouping factor was the index of plant water demand. Our study presents the results of the vegetation and chromium accumulation examinations performed in 1998 and 2007 in the units of a former secondary chromium contaminated sedimentation pond system of a Hungarian leather factory near town Kunszentmarton. The Cr concentration in the sediment samples was between 70-23,722 mgkg(-1); the mean value was 5,893 mgkg(-1). The highest Cr concentratinon was 827 mgkg(-1) in the stein of Oenanthe aquatica, and the lowest value was 6 mgkg(-1) in the case of Senecio jacobea. The results of statistical analysis verified significantly the highest Cr accumulation capacity of wetland palms.