Levels of heavy metals in wetland and marine vascular plants and their biomonitoring potential: A comparative assessment.

The present study investigated the levels of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in the seagrasses Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa, and in the wetland macrophytes Phragmites australis, Arundo donax, Typha domingensis, Apium nodiflorum, and Nasturtium officinale. Results showed that the bioaccumulation capacity from sediments, translocation, total levels in plant tissues, and bioindication of metals in sediments, are generally species-specific. In particular, the patterns of metals in the aquatic plants studied were overall independent of ecology (coasts vs wetlands), biomass, anatomy (rhizomatous vs non rhizomatous plants), and life form (hemicrytophytes vs hydrophytes).