Phytoremediation of some heavy metals using Prosopis juli flora and Conocarpus lancifolius– Soil analysis

Environmental pollution is causing damage to the flora and fauna, resulting in a number of negative impacts on the environment. The present study aims towards evaluation of soil heavy metals (chromium, lead, and nickel) from different locations of Jeddah using leaves of two plant species. Two naturally grown plant species, Prosopis juli flora and Conocarpus lancifolius were collected from four different sites. The soil samples were collected near the factories, main roads, and branch roads in Jeddah. The soil samples were dried and sieved through a 2mm plastic sieve to remove large gravel-sized materials. Soil texture, pH, and EC evaluation were conducted. The amount of Cr, Pb, and Ni was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer Model Inductivity coupled plasma emission spectrometer ICP (PARKIN ELEMER). SPSS, ANOVA, and Post-Hoc Test were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the amount of heavy metal in the soil of Prosopis juli flora were between 0.74-54.0μg/g D.wt. for Cr, 0.31-4.64 μg/g D.wt. for Pb and 1.22-24.5 μg/g D.wt. for Ni. The range of Cr, Pb and Ni in the leaves were between 0.04-13.3.0μg/g D.wt. for Cr, 0.06-20.0 μg/g D.wt. for Pb and 0.16-9.0μg/g D.wt. for Ni. For the soil of Prosopis juli flora, the EC ranged between 0.27- 1.05 mS/cm; whereas, pH ranged from 7.29-7.55 and 78.5-96.5% for sand, 1.0-16.5% for silt, and 1.0-6.0 for clay. There was a significant correlation between the soil textures, clay, and silt at selected sites. Phytoremediation is an effective strategy to overcome the effects of heavy metals including Cr, Pb, and Ni that are being absorbed in plants.