IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i3p2668-d1054883.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Phytoremediation Potential of Native Plants Growing in Industrially Polluted Soils of Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia

Author

Listed:
  • Saud S. Aloud

    (Soil Science Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia)

  • Khaled D. Alotaibi

    (Soil Science Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia)

  • Khalid F. Almutairi

    (Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13326, Saudi Arabia)

  • Fahad N. Albarakah

    (Soil Science Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

Rapid industrialization has resulted in the release and subsequent accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in various environmental matrices, which poses serious health threats globally. Utilizing native plant species to extract such HMs from soil may be an efficient and cost-effective remediation approach. Thus, HM accumulation in soil and native plant species in the industrial area of Al-Qassim province, Saudi Arabia, was investigated in this study, and the phytoremediation potential of the native plant species was assessed. Briefly, 30 surface soil samples and 10 native plants samples were collected from 10 different locations in the studied area. Soil samples were analyzed for physiochemical characteristics and HM contents, while the plant samples were digested and HM concentrations were determined. The results showed that Fe was highest in concentration from soil samples (3900–19,600 mg kg −1 ), followed by Mn, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Cd. Similarly, Fe concentration was also higher in plant samples (432 mg kg −1 ), followed by Mn (70.2 mg kg −1 ) and Zn (38.1 mg kg −1 ). Enrichment factor revealed that 90% of the samples were extremely enriched with Cd, while 20% were highly enriched with Pb. Similarly, contamination factor (5.0–46.9) was also the highest for Cd. Higher bioaccumulation factor (>1) of Phrgmites australis and Chenopodium marale for Cd and Cu, Chenopodium album, Lactuca serviola , and Chenopodium marale for Cu, and Pulicaria crispa for Mn suggested that these native plants can be effectively used for phytoremediation of HMs in soil.

Suggested Citation

  • Saud S. Aloud & Khaled D. Alotaibi & Khalid F. Almutairi & Fahad N. Albarakah, 2023. "Phytoremediation Potential of Native Plants Growing in Industrially Polluted Soils of Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2668-:d:1054883
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2668/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2668/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Saud S. Aloud & Khaled D. Alotaibi & Khalid F. Almutairi & Fahad N. Albarakah, 2022. "Assessment of Heavy Metals Accumulation in Soil and Native Plants in an Industrial Environment, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dorit Nitzan & Bindu Nishal Andreuzza & Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, 2023. "The Food Systems, One Health, and Resilience (FOR) Approach—Led by the FOR-Runners," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-13, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2668-:d:1054883. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.