Determinación de la capacidad bioremediadora de las especies Baccharis latifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers Y Verbesina crassiramea S.F. Blake sobre suelos contaminados con arsénico

Abstract

Arsenic (As) is a pollutant that is released naturally and can generate alterations to the environment and health; hence, it is considered to use the bioremediation technique as a solution. The objective of this research is to determine the bioremediation capacity of two species from Asteraceae family on arsenic contaminated soils. The species were sown in commercial soil with the required nutrients for survival and adapted to greenhouse conditions. The experiment consisted of adding arsenic in concentrations of 0.5, 5 and 10 ppm to three groups of ten individuals, and a control group without arsenic. The analysis of the individuals was carried out weekly for 9 weeks, the Chlorophyll Concentration Index (CCI) was determined, as well as growth variables of root, stem and number of leaves. At the end of the experiment, the concentration of arsenic in the soil, root, stem and leaves of all individuals in each group was analyzed. The results showed that Baccharis latifolia and Verbesina crassirame had characteristics of arsenic absorption and inhibition. The analysis of variance of the CCI with respect to the arsenic treatments, showed a slight variation for the two species in the last weeks of the experimentation, as well as the growth variance analysis indicated that some changes occur especially in the root. Finally, in terms of removal, it was identified that only the species B. latifolia has characteristics to accumulate heavy metals in its different organs. It can be concluded that the two species are suitable to recover areas that present arsenic concentrations, fulfilling different functions.