Metal accumulation in wild plants surrounding mining wastes

Four sites were selected for collection of plants growing on polluted soil developed on tailings from Ag, Au, and Zn mines at the Zacatecas state in Mexico. Trace element concentrations varied between sites, the most polluted area was at El Bote mine near to Zacatecas city. The ranges of total concentration in soil were as follows: Cd 11–47, Ni 19–26, Pb 232–695, Mn 1132–2400, Cu 134–186 and Zn 116–827 mg kg−1 air-dried soil weight. All soil samples had concentrations above typical values for non-polluted soils from the same soil types (Cd 0.6 ± 0.3, Ni 52 ± 4, Pb 41 ± 3 mg kg−1). However, for the majority of samples the DTPA-extractable element concentrations were less than 10% of the total. Some of the wild plants are potentially metal tolerant, because they were able to grow in highly polluted substrates. Plant metal analysis revealed that most species did not translocate metals to their aerial parts, therefore they behave as excluder plants. Polygonum aviculare accumulated Zn (9236 mg kg−1) at concentrations near to the criteria for hyperaccumulator plants. Jatropha dioica also accumulated high Zn (6249 mg kg−1) concentrations.