Influence of land use and topography on distribution and bioaccumulation of potentially toxic metals in soil and plant leaves: A case study from Sekhukhuneland, South Africa.

Potentially toxic metal (PTM) enrichment of the soil-plant system in ultramafic and mining regions is a global concern as it affects the food chain. With expanding mining industry, it is important to assess if anthropogenic factors (i.e., land use practices) have a greater influence in this regard compared to natural factors (i.e., topography). Localities in Sekhukhuneland, South Africa, were selected along an altitudinal gradient (i.e., topography: upper slope, footslope, valley and valley bottom) and a land use profile (i.e., rangelands, gardens, tailings and wastelands) to investigate the distribution of Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sr and Zn of natural (i.e., ultramafic geology) and anthropogenic (i.e., mining) origin in surface soil and plant leaf tissue. Plant life form was considered as an additional factor to evaluate PTM accumulation in leaves. Findings revealed a wider distribution range for Cr and Ni in the surface soil. Co, Cu, Mg, Mo, Sr and Zn were accumulated (bioaccumulation factor, BAF > 1) in leaf tissue of 74% of the evaluated plants of which 83% were indigenous. Grasses, forbs, dwarf shrubs and shrubs showed the highest accumulation levels. Despite an observed trend in the distribution of PTMs in soils and plant leaves along the altitudinal gradient, no significant differences were determined among the topographic positions. Land use practices, however, differed significantly indicating anthropogenic interference as a predominant determinant of PTM enrichment of soil-plant systems. Metal tolerant dominant plants in Sekhukhuneland could be classified as metallophytes. Indigenous species, accumulators and excluders, showed prospects for phytoremediation and rehabilitation of metal contaminated sites, respectively. Concentrations of Cr and Co in food and medicinal plant leaves exceeded the international permissible limits, which highlighted the necessity to estimate human health risks for PTMs in metalliferous sites.