Traffic-emitted metal status and uptake by Carex meyeriana Kunth and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald growing in roadside turfy swamp in the Changbai Mountain area, China

Abstract

Six traffic-emitted metals (Cr, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni) were determined in soil and plants for below- and aboveground parts along different distances from highway to evaluate their behavior and uptake by Carex meyeriana Kunth and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald growing in turfy swamps. The results indicated that the different plant tissues showed significantly different levels of metal content. Nonlinear regression analysis indicated that metal contents leveled off at constant values before they decreased as the distance from the roadside increased. The high R2 values of the regression model indicated good fit of the exponential function applied to depict the distribution pattern of the metal elements. It was deduced that Cr, Cu, and Cd in Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald were mainly derived from the soil; Carex meyeriana Kunth and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald absorbed Pb mainly through the stomata from atmospheric depositions; Cr, Cu, and Cd in Carex meyeriana Kunth and Zn in Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald were mainly affected by soil and atmospheric depositions. After excluding the effects of traffic, only the bioaccumulation factor of Cd (1.34) in Carex meyeriana Kunth and the translocation factor of Zn (1.13) in Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald were greater than 1, suggesting that Carex meyeriana Kunth could be a good candidate for assimilating Cd from soils and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens Fernald could be suitable for the phytoextraction of Zn.