Use of Hippophae rhamnoides L. and Symphoricarpos albus L. in the phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals

Soil contamination is common on post-industrial sites. There are often high levels of heavy metals in the soil requiring abatement, and one of the methods used for this purpose is phytoremediation. The aim of this article is to present the applicability of using Hippophae rhamnoides and Symphoricarpos albus for the remediation of a historically contaminated area of a former metal smelter within the former Jedność Steelworks, Siemianowice Śląskie (Poland). Phytoremediation was carried out on a selected experimental plot; the test material consisted of soil samples taken from the surface layer and plant material, which were collected for testing 12 and 24 months after planting. following the phytoremediation process of soil contaminated with heavy metals between 0.0 and 0.25 m below the surface, a significant reduction in these contaminants was not fully achieved in relation to the initial value, reaching the permissible values set by Polish standards for industrial-site soils. The plant species analysed are best suited to cleaning soils contaminated with barium (Ba – 234 mg·kg⁻¹), zinc (Zn – 3521 mg·kg⁻¹), cadmium (Cd – 67 mg·kg⁻¹) and lead (Pb – 809 mg·kg⁻¹). For lead, H. rhamnoides has a higher accumulation, while a higher accumulation was achieved in the leaves of S. albus for zinc and cadmium (130 mg·kg⁻¹ and 0.36 mg·kg⁻¹, respectively). The study shows promising results when these are species used for phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soil.