Heavy metal bioaccumulation in selected medicinal plants collected from Khetri copper mines and comparison with those collected from fertile soil in Haridwar,India

Heavy metal distribution in medicinal plants is gaining importance not only as an alternative medicine, but also for possible concern due to effects of metal toxicity. The present study has been focused on emphasizing the heavy metal status and bioaccumulation factors of V, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se (essential metals) and Cr, Ni, Cd, As and Pb (potentially toxic metals) in medicinal plants grown under two different environmental conditions e.g., near to Khetri copper mine and those in fertile soils of Haridwar, both in India, using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (relative method) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The copper levels in the medicinal plants from Khetri were found to be 3-4 folds higher (31.6–76.5 mg kg^?1) than those from Haridwar samples (7.40–15.3 mg kg^?1), which is correlated with very high copper levels (763 mg kg^?1) in Khetri soil. Among various heavy metals, Cr (2.60–5.92 mg kg^?1), Cd (1.47–2.97 mg kg^?1) and Pb (3.97–6.63 mg kg^?1) are also higher in concentration in the medicinal plants from Khetri. The essential metals like Mn (36.4–69.3 mg kg^?1), Fe (192–601 mg kg^?1), Zn (24.9–49.9 mg kg^?1) and Se (0.13–0.91 mg kg^?1) and potentially toxic metals like Ni (3.09–9.01 mg kg^?1) and As (0.41–2.09 mg kg^?1) did not show much variations in concentration in the medicinal plants from both Khetri and Haridwar. The medicinal plants from Khetri, e.g., Ocimum sanctum, Cassia fistula, Withania somnifera and Azadirachta Indica were found rich in Ca and Mg contents while Aloe barbadensis showed moderately high Ca and Mg. Higher levels of Ca-Mg were found to correlate with Zn (except Azadirachta Indica). The bioaccumulation factors (BAFS) of the heavy metals were estimated to understand the soil-to-plant transfer pattern of the heavy metals. Significantly lower BAF values of Cu and Cr were found in the medicinal plants from Khetri, indicating majority fraction of these metals are precipitated and were immobilized species unsuitable for plant uptake. Overall, Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) showed very high metal bioaccumulation.     

Bacterial colonization of the phyllosphere of nineteen plant species and antimicrobial activity of their leaf secondary metabolites against leaf associated bacteria

Summary. The scope of this work was to examine whether leaf constitutive secondary metabolites play a role in determining bacterial colonization of the phyllosphere. To this aim, we surveyed nineteen native or cultivated plant species that share a common bacterial pool in a North Mediterranean area, and estimated the size of total and ice nucleation active (INA) bacterial populations on their leaves. Large differences in the colonization of their phyllosphere were found; the population size of epiphytic bacteria ranged from 7.5 × 10² to 1 × 10⁶ CFU/g fresh weight, in eucalypt and celery, respectively. Species native in Mediterranean-type climate areas, particularly those belonging to the group of aromatic plants, are characterized by scarce presence of INA bacteria. The antibacterial activity of essential oils, surface phenolics and leaf tissue extracts was also estimated against the INA strains P. syringae and E. herbicola, isolated from two of these plant species. E. herbicola proved more sensitive than P. syringae. Of the species examined, oregano [Origanum vulgare L. subsp. hirtum (Link.) Ietswaart], an aromatic plant, had the highest antimicrobial activity, whereas six species showed no activity at all. Further experiments were performed with oregano and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) that represent two extremes in their secondary metabolite content. Both plants were inoculated with P. syringae. By the end of incubation, the bacterial population on bean plants was about 100 times higher than that on oregano leaves. Scanning electron micrographs showed that bacterial growth on oregano leaves was confined to sites away from glandular hairs. Results from the bacterial colonization survey together with those from the toxicity tests showed that all species rich in antibacterial secondary metabolites harbored low leaf bacterial populations. These results provide substantial evidence that leaf secondary metabolites function as constitutive defense chemicals against microbial invasions. However, the fact that species with non- or moderately active leaf secondary metabolites are not always highly colonized suggests mediation of other unknown factors, the contribution of which requires further investigation.     

五种水生植物对水中铀的去除作用

采用水培实验,研究了浮叶植物野生水葫芦(Eichhornia crassipes)、漂浮植物浮萍(Lemna minor L)、满江红(Azolla imbircata)、沉水植物菹草(Potamogeton crispus)、挺水植物空心莲子草(Alligator Alternanthera Herb)在初始铀浓度分别为0.15、1.50和15.00 mg·L^-1水中的生长状况及它们对水中铀的去除能力.结果表明,在21 d的水培试验期内,满江红对铀表现出了最强的抗性,0.15、1.50和15.00 mg·L^-1的铀对满江红的生长抑制率分别只有4.56%、2.48%和6.79%,而满江红对水中铀的去除率分别达到了94%、97%和92%.进一步的试验表明,每1 L水中种植7.5 g满江红,可以获得最大的铀去除率,将初始铀浓度为1.25、2.50、5.00和10.00 mg·L^-1的水体降至国家排放标准(GB 23727—2009)规定值(0.05 mg·L^-1)以下分别需要17、19、23和25 d.研究结果为进一步开展铀污染水体植物修复的研究打下了基础.     

浅议新大气排放标准发布后火电厂竣工验收监测

2011年7月29日《火电厂大气污染物排放标准》发布后,现有火电厂的“三同时”竣工验收监测需执行新标准中的相关规定。新标准还增加了敏感点环境空气的监测,敏感点的确定可参照环评,根据实际情况布设。新标准中未明确指明“重点地区”指哪些行政区划,为此,本文建议需要在新标准中进一步明确“重点地区”指哪些省等行政区域,以利于新标准的执行。     

改良剂对4种木本植物的铅锌耐性、亚细胞分布和化学形态的影响

本研究以4种耐铅锌木本植物夹竹桃(Nerium oleander)、栾树(Koelreuteria paniculata)、泡桐(Paulownia)和苎麻(Boehmeria)为材料,在不同改良剂浓度下(CK组:100%铅锌矿渣±少量磷肥、改良一:85%铅锌矿渣±10%泥炭土±5%菌肥±少量磷肥、改良二:75%铅锌矿渣±20%泥炭土±5%菌肥±少量磷肥),进行了耐性木本植物富集与转移能力以及Pb、Zn在4种木本植物不同部位的亚细胞分布和化学形态分析.结果表明:14种植物种植后基质中重金属的浓度基本低于种植前,夹竹桃与苎麻改良一与改良二之间差异不显著,泡桐改良二效果显著优于改良一,栾树改良一效果显著优于改良二;4种植物地上部对Pb、Zn的富集系数都比较低,但具有较高的转移系数,适当的基质改良有利于提高植物对Pb、Zn的富集与转移能力.2Pb、Zn在4种植物各部位的亚细胞分布以细胞壁组分和可溶性组分为主,在线粒体、叶绿体和细胞核等细胞器组分中分布较少;与CK组相比,两改良组使可溶性组分对Pb的滞留作用和细胞壁对Zn的滞留作用在增强.3Pb在植物各部位的化学形态以盐酸、氯化钠和乙醇提取态为主,其他化学形态含量极少;Zn则以残留态、盐酸、醋酸、氯化钠、水和乙醇提取态这6种形态存在,且都具较高分配比例.与CK组相比,两改良组使植物各部位活性较弱的Pb的化学形态比例减少,活性较强的化学形态比例增加;Zn则是根部活性较强的化学形态比例增加,地上部活性较强的化学形态比例减少.     

Medieval Agroecosystems (9th–13th Centuries) in the Region of the Present-Day City of Glazov (Udmurt Republic)

Paleoethnobotanical materials and buried soils from the site of the ancient settlement of Idnakar and neighboring archaeological monuments were analyzed to reconstruct the agroecosystems of the 9th through the 13th centuries AD near the present-day city of Glazov. The results provided data on the main features of the agroecosystem structure and composition, climate, and agriculture in the Middle Ages.     

Extinction risk of the endemic vascular flora of Kauai,Hawaii, based on IUCN assessments

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. Governmental agencies and conservation organizations increasingly rely on IUCN Red List assessments to develop conservation policies and priorities. Funding agencies use the assessments as evaluation criteria, and researchers use meta-analysis of red-list data to address fundamental and applied conservation science questions. However, the circa 143,000 IUCN assessments represent a fraction of the world's biodiversity and are biased in regional and organismal coverage. These biases may affect conservation priorities, funding, and uses of these data to understand global patterns. Isolated oceanic islands are characterized by high endemicity, but the unique biodiversity of many islands is experiencing high extinction rates. The archipelago of Hawaii has one of the highest levels of endemism of any floristic region; 90% of its 1367 native vascular plant taxa are classified as endemic. We used the IUCN's assessment of the complete single-island endemic (SIE) vascular plant flora of Kauai, Hawaii, to assess the proportion and drivers of decline of threatened plants in an oceanic island setting. We compared the IUCN assessments with federal, state, and other local assessments of Kauai species or taxa of conservation concern. Finally, we conducted a preliminary assessment for all 1044 native vascular plants of Hawaii based on IUCN criterion B by estimating area of occupancy, extent of occurrence, and number of locations to determine whether the pattern found for the SIE vascular flora of Kauai is comparable to the native vascular flora of the Hawaiian Islands. We compared our results with patterns observed for assessments of other floras. According to IUCN, 256 SIE vascular plant taxa are threatened with extinction and 5% are already extinct. This is the highest extinction risk reported for any flora to date. The preliminary assessment of the native vascular flora of Hawaii showed that 72% (753 taxa) is threatened. The flora of Hawaii may be one of the world's most threatened; thus, increased and novel conservation measures in the state and on other remote oceanic islands are urgently needed.     

三峡库区陆生植物迁地保存初报

三峡植物物种多样性保护,重点在珍稀濒危植物,但对建群种和有实用价值的种也进行收集保存。7年来试验站保存三峡库区植物200余种,迁移成活率93%,有8种未成功。（1）到2002年已有30余种植物正常开花结实（其中木本植物24种）,可以选择繁殖试验,以达到保存的目的;（2）选择了8种植物,进行生长观测,在人为控制下,生长速度满意;（3）进行了部份种类的扦插繁殖和孢子繁殖,获得了相关结果;（4）少数种类收集遇到极大困难,需要继续努力。三峡库区生物多样性研究与保护,存在一些问题与困难,如漏项问题、库区物种问题、外来种问题、隔离对生物多样性的影响问题、生物多样性的功能问题等需要进一步研讨,从而使库区物种得以保存,环境得以优化,生物资源得到持续利用。     

Application of the Red List Index for conservation assessment of Spanish vascular plants

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Index (RLI) is used to measure trends in extinction risk of species over time. The development of 2 red lists for Spanish vascular flora during the past decade allowed us to apply the IUCN RLI to vascular plants in an area belonging to a global biodiversity hotspot. We used the Spanish Red Lists from 2000 and 2010 to assess changes in level of threat at a national scale and at the subnational scales of Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, and peninsular Spain. We assigned retrospective IUCN categories of threat to 98 species included in the Spanish Red List of 2010 but absent in the Spanish Red List of 2000. In addition, we tested the effect of different random and taxonomic and spatial Spanish samples on the overall RLI value. From 2000 to 2010, the IUCN categories of 768 species changed (10% of Spanish flora), mainly due to improved knowledge (63%), modifications in IUCN criteria (14%), and changes in threat status (12%). All measured national and subnational RLI values decreased during this period, indicating a general decline in the conservation status of the Spanish vascular flora. The Canarian RLI value (0.84) was the lowest, although the fastest deterioration in conservation status occurred on peninsular Spain (from 0.93 in 2000 to 0.92 in 2010). The RLI values based on subsamples of the Spanish Red List were not representative of RLI values for the entire country, which would discourage the use of small areas or small taxonomic samples to assess general trends in the endangerment of national biotas. The role of the RLI in monitoring of changes in biodiversity at the global and regional scales needs further reassessment because additional areas and taxa are necessary to determine whether the index is sufficiently sensitive for use in assessing temporal changes in species’ risk of extinction.