Int J Phytoremediation. 2014;16(7-12):1183-91. doi: 10.1080/15226514.2013.821449.
Heavy metals are an important class of pollutants with both lethal and sublethal effects on organisms. Wetlands are cheap natural alternatives for removal of heavy metals from soils; however, wetland plants vary greatly in their degree of metal uptake. Hokersar wetland, a Ramsar site of Kashmir Himalaya, India is a game reserve of international importance that provides suitable habitat for resident birds and an excellent stopover point for migratory birds visiting from Palaearctic breeding grounds in Central Asia, China, N-Europe and Siberia. The toxicity of chronic dietary metal exposure in birds may have adverse reproductive effects which include decreased egg production, decreased hatchability, and increased hatchling mortality. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the heavy metal sequestration capability of one of the most common wetland plant species Phragmites australis in Hokersar wetland. The accumulation of the different elements was in order of Al > Mn > Ba > Zn > Cu > Pb > Mo > Co > Cr > Cd > Ni. Translocation factor, i.e. ratio of shoot to root metal concentration revealed that metals were largely retained in the roots of P. australis, thus reducing the supply of metals to avifauna and preventing their bio-accumulation.
重金属是一类重要的污染物，对生物具有致死和亚致死效应。湿地是从土壤中去除重金属的廉价天然替代品；然而，湿地植物对金属的吸收程度差异很大。印度克什米尔喜马拉雅山的拉姆斯尔湿地是一个具有国际重要意义的游戏保护区，为当地鸟类提供了适宜的栖息地，也是从中亚、中国、北欧和西伯利亚等繁殖地迁徙过来的候鸟的绝佳中转站。鸟类慢性饮食金属暴露的毒性可能会产生不利的繁殖影响，包括产蛋量减少、孵化率降低和幼鸟死亡率增加。因此，本研究旨在评估霍克萨尔湿地最常见的湿地植物物种之一芦苇（Phragmites australis）对重金属的螯合能力。不同元素的积累顺序为 Al > Mn > Ba > Zn > Cu > Pb > Mo > Co > Cr > Cd > Ni。迁移因子，即茎与根金属浓度的比值表明，金属主要被保留在芦苇的根部，从而减少了金属向鸟类的供应，并防止其生物积累。
