2022 年 13 巻 2 号 p. 38-43
Phytoremediation has become an alternative technology for cleaning up contaminated areas by accumulation in the root and shoot systems. The study conducted a 98-day pot experiment to determine Cd accumulation and its morphological and physiological effects on Amaranthus spinosus L. grown in the non contaminated forest (S1) and mine contaminated (S2) soils of Benguet. Soil and plant tissue analysis were done using AAS method; quantitative descriptive method for morphological analysis; titration method for vitamin C analysis; and Kjeldahl method for protein analysis. Amaranthus spinosus L. grown in S1 accumulated 0.52 mg/kg Cd in the root and 0.88 mg/kg Cd in the shoot with soil Cd concentration of 3.70 mg/kg at 7.43 pH. In S2, A. spinosus L. had taken up 0.000012 mg/kg Cd in the roots and in the shoot systems with 0.90 mg/kg Cd soil concentration at 4.19 pH. Biological Accumulation Coefficient (BAC = 0.24) was generally weak since the equivalent is less than 1 (BAC < 1, 0.24) while translocation factor (TF = 1.69) is greater than 1 (TF>1, 1.69). For morphological characteristics comparing S1 and S2 results are the following: root length (372.33 mm and 284.70 mm); shoot length (399.33 mm and 132.33 mm); and, biomass (22.53 grams and 9.27 grams). Highly significant differences were also noted for S1 and S2 on root length, shoot length, and biomass at α = 0.01 with p - values of 0.002, 0.000, and 0.002, respectively. For the vitamin C and protein content, both (S1 and S2) were not affected. From these results, it can be concluded that Amaranthus spinosus L. can accumulate significant concentration of Cd in its root and shoot systems and allows Cd mobility in its system. It is then recommended that the capability of Amaranthus spinosus L. for Cd tolerance requires further studies.
