Phytoremediation potential of Ipomoea asarifolia on lead polluted soils

Abstract

This study evaluated the potential of Ipomoea asarifolia to remediate lead (Pb) polluted soils. The plant was grown on soils amended with varying levels of Pb in different polythene pots and atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) was used to analyse the accumulation of Pb in roots, stems and leaves of the plant within three harvesting phases of the study period. The results revealed that the plant accumulated a total biomass of 308.13mg, 392.07mg and 482.21mg Pb from 328.24 ± 2.33mg/kg, 433.03 ± 0.59mg/kg and 537.25 ± 0.92mg/kg Pb-polluted soils respectively. The Transportation Indices for Pb translocation to the different parts pf the plant showed that I. asarifolia has both RTI and STI of less than 1 (TI<1) for Pb, indicating that the plant has both phytoaccumulation and phytostabilisation potential for Pb in soils polluted with the heavy metal. The results therefore, suggest that the plant could have potential for phytoremediation of Pb

Key words: Phytoremediation, pollution, Ipomoea asarifolia, heavy metal, lead