Suchergebnisse

AbstractA preliminary environmental assessment of four heavy metals (Mn, Pb, Zn and Fe) on the coast of Campeche, Mexico was carried out. Surface sediments (0–10 cm), water and plants were collected in four sites of the coastline to obtain information about the levels and spatial distribution of the selected elements. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) was calculated for plants, where the BCF of Mn (3.375–3.558) and Zn (0.291–0.888) were high for Conocarpus erectus (button mangrove) and the BCF of Fe ranged from 0.022 to 0.023 in Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove). This study showed that a significant source of metal contamination in the coastline of Campeche could be the discharge of municipal sewage. The relationship among metals, water, sediments and plants revealed a distinct behaviour of metals transportation in the marine environment. Mangroves operated as excluder species for nonessential metals (Pb) and accumulators for essential metals (Zn). Results showed that mangroves could be employed as a phytostabiliser of heavy metals.