Al and Fe heavy metal concentrations in the vegetative and root parts of Dicranopteris linearis, Nephrolepis bifurcata, Stenochlaena palustris and Acrostichum aureum grew in highly weathered soil

• Main Authors: Mohd Latiff, Nur Hanie, Kammona, Suhair, Wan Sulaiman, Wan Syibrah Hanisah, Mohd Hatta, Farah Ayuni, Ramya, Razanah, Othman, Rashidi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Horizon Research Publishing Corporation 2022
• Subjects: BPC Science and Technology in Islam; GE Environmental Sciences; TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering; TD172 Environmental pollution
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/99825/2/99825_Al%20and%20Fe%20heavy%20metal%20concentrations.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/99825/; https://www.hrpub.org/journals/jour_info.php?id=40

Phytoremediation is a plant function that degrades, eliminates, and inactivates potentially hazardous and toxic compounds in the polluted water, soil, and air. In phytoremediation mechanisms, phytodegrading enzymes break down the pollutants taken up by plants (phytodegradation). Additionally, the microorganisms found in the plant-related rhizosphere can also degrade the pollutants in the soil (rhizodegradation). The plants can extract the pollutants from the soil and accumulate them in their tissues (phytoextraction) or immobilise the contaminants in their root zone, remove the harmful compounds from the water and soil through transpiration into the atmosphere, and regulate the heavy metal pollutants across their root system (phytostabilisation). In this study, researchers characterised the development and aptitude of different fern species to remediate the heavy metal pollutants present in the highly weathered soil (i.e., laterite soil). For this purpose, soil samples from 3 different sites in Perak, Selangor and Johor were collected. The phytoremediation ability of 4 different fern species (i.e., Dicranopteris linearis, Nephrolepis bifurcata, Stenochlaena palustris and Acrostichum aureum) was determined to understand the pattern and distribution of heavy metal contamination in soil. The ICP-MS technique was utilised to determine the concentration of heavy metals. The results indicated the presence of a high concentration of heavy metal at many of these sites, while the concentration of Al and Fe ions varied. In addition, a significant difference (P<0.0001) in the concentration of heavy metals was discovered between fern species. All the interactions were detected using the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. Phytoremediation is considered an alternative technique for reducing the heavy metal concentration in soil in light of various factors that lead to the accumulation of heavy metals. Furthermore, the remediation of numerous sites that are polluted with heavy metals, like landfills, is a cost-effective solution employing green technologies, like phytoremediation