Preliminary study on the phytoremediation potential of Reaumuria Soongorica and Nitraria Sibirica for heavy metal reduction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5564/mjas.v18i42.3689Keywords:
Heavy metals, soil pollution, phytoremediation, mine tailings, Reaumuria soongorica, Nitraria sibiricaAbstract
As part of efforts to monitor and mitigate environmental degradation caused by mining, an experimental study was conducted on reducing heavy metal concentrations in the tailings soil of the Oyu Tolgoi Mine. This mine is located in the Khanbogd soum, Umnugobi province, Mongolia. The study employed phytoremediation, an ecological engineering method that uses plants to extract or stabilize contaminants. Since soil contamination typically accumulates over long periods, two-year-old seedlings of two native plant species, Nitraria sibirica Pall. and Reaumuria soongorica Pall. Maxim., were planted to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing heavy metal concentrations. A total of 96 seedlings were planted in two rows with 24 replicates each: one test site adjacent to the tailings facility and one control site located 5 km away. Heavy metal content in both the seedlings and the soil was analyzed over a five-month period by Hanlab LLC’s Mineral Analysis Laboratory, Mongolia. Among the 28 heavy metals detected, the native shrub, Reaumuria soongorica, showed higher absorption and accumulation of arsenic, cadmium, lead, chromium, and nickel ranging from 65.4% to 82.7% compared to Nitraria sibirica (14.8% to 75.4%), indicating its potential as an effective species for phytoremediation in contaminated tailings soil.
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