The European native cord grass Spartina maritima and the South American invasive Spartina densiflora as biotools for phytoremediation in salt marshes

5^th International Conference on Environmental Toxicology and Ecological Risk Assessment

September 12-13, 2016 Phoenix, USA

Jesus M Castillo

University of Seville, Spain

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Environ Anal Toxicol

Abstract :

Our research group has been studying for three decades the possibilities of using the European native cord grass Spartina maritima and the South American invasive Spartina densiflora as biotools in phytoremediation and ecological restoration projects. Our studies have been carried out mostly in the estuary of Odiel and Tinto rivers, the most polluted estuary with heavy metals all around the world. Our results show that both cordgrass species are suitable biotools for phytoextraction and phytostabilizations of different pollutants. Analyzing specific traits of these two cord grasses allowed us to decide which species is more adequate depending on the pollutant, location and environmental conditions. For example, Spartina densiflora is especially good in sequestering heavy metals in its old tissues as dead shoots and leaves since they are attached to the clump for longer than in the case of Spartina maritima. On the other hand, Spartina matitima is a better biotools for phytostabilization and to phytoextract dispersed pollutants since its growth forms allows it to colonise bare sediments faster than Spartina densiflora. Our results show that analyzing certain plant traits is key step to identify the most suitable biotools for different phytoremediation projects.

Biography :

Email: manucas@us.es