The potential of Razan-Hamadan highway indigenous plant species for the phytoremediation of lead contaminated land

Phytoremediation is the use of vegetation for in situ treatment of contaminated soils, sediments and water. To assess the potential of the native plant species for phytoremediation, plant samples were collected from Razan-Hamadan roadside areas in Iran that have lead pollution from automotive emissions. Samples were taken in autumn and spring of 2002 and analysed for total lead by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Lead concentrations in plants ranged from 7.83 to 30.46 mg kg(-1) in shoot organs and from 1.8 to 26.7 mg kg(-1) in root organs. Bioaccumulation of Pb in shoot organs of Salsola species, Artemisia herba-alba, Eremopyrum cistans, Aegilops crassa, Chenopodium murale and Glycyrrhiza glabra was significantly higher that in their root organs. However both Lepidium species and Kochia scoparia accumulated higher Pb in root organs. The Salsola species accumulated Pb in their organs more than the other plants. Lead bioaccumulation in Sasola kali was higher in autumn. Of 10 plant species, only two species of chenopodiaceae (S. iberica and S. kali), with higher enrichment and translocation factors seemed more suitable for phytoremediation of arid soils.