Chemosphere 127 (2015) 5863

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Chemosphere
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/chemosphere

Phytoremediation of mercury-contaminated soils by Jatropha curcas

Jos Marrugo-Negrete a,, Jos Durango-Hernndez a, Jos Pinedo-Hernndez a, Jess Olivero-Verbel b,
Sergi Dez c,
a

Department of Chemistry, Water, Applied and Environmental Chemistry Group, University of Crdoba, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Montera, Colombia
Environmental and Computational Chemistry Group, University of Cartagena, Campus of Zaragocilla, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cartagena, Colombia
c
Environmental Chemistry Department, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDAEA-CSIC Barcelona, Spain
b

h i g h l i g h t s
 Phytoremediation capacity of J. curcas was tested using soils from gold mining areas.
 This plant species has good ability to tolerate and accumulate Hg from polluted soils.
 Biomass accumulation decreased when Hg concentration increased.
 J. curcas is a promising species to remediate mercury-contaminated soils.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 23 December 2014
Accepted 25 December 2014

Handling Editor: J. de Boer

Keywords:
Jatropha curcas
Phytoremediation
Mercury
Translocation factor
Bioconcentration factor
Gold mining

a b s t r a c t
Jatropha curcas plants species were tested to evaluate their phytoremediation capacity in soils contaminated by different levels of mercury. The experimental treatments consisted of four levels of mercury
concentrations in the soil T0, T1, T5, and T10 (0, 1, 5, and 10 lg Hg per g soil, respectively). The total
mercury content absorbed by the different plant tissues (roots, stems and leaves) was determined during
four months of exposure. The growth behavior, mercury accumulation, translocation (TF) and bioconcentration (BCF) factors were determined. The different tissues in J. curcas can be classied in order of
decreasing accumulation Hg as follows: roots > leaves > stems. The highest cumulative absorption of
the metal occurred between the second and third month of exposure. Maximum TF was detected during
the second month and ranged from 0.79 to 1.04 for the different mercury concentrations. Values of BCF
ranged from 0.21 to 1.43. Soils with T1 showed signicantly higher BCF (1.43) followed by T10 (1.32) and
T5 (0.91), all of them at the fourth month. On the other hand TFs were low (range 0.100.26) at the en of
the experiment. The maximum reduction of biomass (16.3%) occurred for T10 (10 lg Hg g 1). In sum,
J. curcas species showed high BCFs and low TFs, and their use could be a promising approach to
remediating mercury-contaminated soils.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Mercury is a widespread environmental pollutant that is
derived from several (natural and anthropogenic) sources and
has a huge global impact due to its toxicity, complex chemodynamics in the environment and tendency to biomagnify in ecosystems (Boening, 2000; Horvat, 2002; Islam et al., 2007). The
artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the largest sector
of demand for mercury (UNEP, 2013), and the largest source of
Corresponding authors at: Water, Applied and Environmental Chemistry Group,
University of Crdoba, Montera, Colombia. Tel.: +57 (4) 7860111; fax:
7860381x310 (J.M. Negrete). Tel.: +34 93 4006100x1654; fax: +34 93 2045904
(S. Dez).
E-mail addresses: jlmarrugon@hotmail.com (J. Marrugo-Negrete), sergi.diez@
idaea.csic.es (S. Dez).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.12.073
0045-6535/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

mercury pollution to air and water combined (Telmer and

Stapper, 2012). Annual Hg emissions by small-scale gold mining
are estimated at 8001000 metric tons, approximately 50% of
which is from Latin American operations (Hinton et al., 2003;
Veiga et al., 2006). Over the last decade, several studies and local
authorities have described mercury contamination in Colombia
by mining activities (Ingeominas, 1995; Veiga, 1997; Olivero
et al., 2002; Marrugo-Negrete et al., 2008). The amount of annual
Hg released into the environment in Colombia has been estimated
at 150 metric tons, creating a large zone that requires rehabilitation (Cordy et al., 2011). Moreover, about one-third of mercury
emitted ends in piles of mining waste (e.g. tailings), water bodies
and soils.
Chemical, physical or biological treatments can remediate
metal-contaminated soils, but they are often expensive and can

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J. Marrugo-Negrete et al. / Chemosphere 127 (2015) 5863

even irreversibly affect soil properties, and may render the soil
useless as a medium for plant growth (Padmavathiamma and Li,
2007). Novel, more environmentally friendly technologies, including phytoremediation, are being investigated as suitable alternatives (Arthur et al., 2005; Mani et al., 2014).
The heavy metal accumulation properties of several plant species make them ideal for the remediation of contaminated soil and
water (Bizily et al., 2000; Chaney et al., 2000; Pulford et al., 2003;
Prabha and Loretta, 2007). Metal hyperaccumulating plants used
for remediation are able to accumulate metal concentrations up to
100 times higher than nonaccumulator plants under the same
growing conditions. These species can accumulate most metallic
elements in quantities of up to 0.01% of their dry weight
(1000 mg kg 1). Hence, a hyperaccumulator species may concentrate more than 10 mg kg 1 Hg; 100 mg kg 1 Cd; 1000 mg kg 1
Co, Cr, Cu, and Pb; 10 000 mg kg 1 Zn, and Ni (Lasat, 2002). The
use of bioengineering of plants capable of removing methylmercury
from the contaminated soil (Heaton et al., 1998) or engineered
transgenic A. thaliana plants (Bizily et al., 2000) that were able to
grow on media containing 50-fold higher methylmercury concentrations are good examples of phytoremediation of Hg-polluted soil.
Jatropha curcas, a plant commonly known as the physic nut,
belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family and is recognized as a fuel
substitute (Gao et al., 2010). In Colombia, the species has been
found in gold mining areas where Hg is used in the amalgamation
process (Prez, 2010; Marrugo et al., 2011), and is present in high
concentrations in the soil (Prez, 2010; Lpez, 2012). The J. curcas
crop has been shown to help restore damaged and contaminated
ground (Debnath and Bisen, 2008). Recent reports have demonstrated that the tolerance of the species to copper and lead is due
to an antioxidant defense mechanism that promotes adaptation
to the metals (Gao et al., 2008; 2009). Recently, it has been
reported that J. curcas has a high capacity for bioaccumulation,
phytotranslocation and phytoremediation of heavy metals (Yadav
et al., 2009; Jamil et al., 2009).
Despite the biodiversity of autochthonous plants in the Hg-contaminated soils of mining areas in Colombia, the phytoremediation
processes employed by local species have not been evaluated.
Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to investigate the
phytoremediation capacity of J. curcas using Hg-contaminated soil
from a northern mining area of Colombia. To this end, we determined the total mercury content over time (four months), Hg
translocation (TF) and bioconcentration (BCF) in the plants.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Experimental design
A factorial experimental design (42) was developed in which the
total Hg in both soil and plant tissues were selected as the response
variables. The level of soil metal contamination (control, 1, 5 and
10 lg Hg g 1) and growing time (1, 2, 3 and 4 months) were
selected as factors. These treatment conditions were based on preliminary tests. Each factor and its levels were independently evaluated in triplicate, leading to 16 assays. The statistical population
included all plants sowed in the different contaminated soils. Every
plant sowed in 2 kg of soil was considered an experimental unit. To
establish differences in phytotoxic effects, plants sowed in soils
collected far from mining areas were used as controls relative to
plants subjected to high Hg concentrations.
2.2. Soil and seed sampling
Soil and seed samples were collected in a mining site of northern Colombia (El Alacrn gold mine, Department of Cordoba). The

Table 1
Soil characteristics.
1

Soil type

lg Hg g

Control soil
Soil Mine El Alacrn

ND
1.76 0.09

pH

% OM

4.014.27
4.184.26

2.2 0.3
2.0 0.2

ND: not detectable, % OM: organic matter content n = 3.

soil samples were taken at depths of less than 30 cm from the surface (Smolinska and Cedzynska, 2007). Soil samples collected in
background reference sites, with minimal human impact, far away
from mining sites were used as control samples. The results of the
initial mercury content testing of the soil samples are shown in
Table 1. These samples were transferred into labeled polyethylene
bags, transported to the laboratory, dried at 40 C and homogenized. To prepare the nal concentration of 1 lg Hg g 1, the mine
soil sample (1.76 lg Hg g 1) was mixed with control soil. For the
other two concentrations, the mine sample was fortied with a
mercury nitrate solution [Hg(NO3)2: 50 g L 1] to adjust Hg concentration levels to 5 0.08 and 10 0.09 lg Hg g 1. J. curcas seeds
were collected from plants found in soils that were uncontaminated with Hg. The seeds were washed with tap water, submerged
in a 10% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite solution for 15 min and rinsed
with deionized water.
2.3. Greenhouse experiments
The collected seeds were germinated in Hg-free soil (control),
after which the seedlings were transplanted into pots containing
2 kg of soil and allowed to grow for four months in a greenhouse
located at the University of Cordoba. The room conditions were
maintained to avoid light and temperature gradients. All plants
were irrigated with three-quarters of their camp capacity to avoid
leaching (Chen et al., 2005).
2.4. Monitoring
Soil and plant tissues samples were collected monthly and
transported to the laboratory for the determination of total Hg concentration. Plants were initially separated into roots, stems and
leaves. Afterwards, they were washed three times with sterile
water and stored in paper bags for three-day drying at 40 C in a
Binder forced convection oven with a capacity of 115 L. Next, biomass accumulation was determined by weighing the samples
using a digital balance OHAUS Adventurer. The room conditions
were maintained with a temperature of 2730 C and relative
humidity between 55% and 65%.
2.5. Sample analysis
Hg content was analyzed in both plants and soils. Approximately 0.5 g of plant material (dry weight basis) was subjected
to microwave-assisted digestion using an HNO3/H2O2 acid mixture
(5 + 2 mL) (Jedrzejczak, 1996). In the same manner, 0.5 g of soil
(dry weight basis) was microwave digested using 10 mL of 65%
HNO3 solution according to the EPA method 3051A (USEPA,
2007). The microwave oven used was a Milestone ETHOS TOUCH
127697series with a temperature range of 100175 C and a pressure of 1500 kPa. The total Hg was determined by cold vapor
atomic absorption spectroscopy (CV-AAS) using a Thermo Scientic iCE 3000 series analyzer. Analytical quality control of the
methods was evaluated in triplicate with certied materials for
plant of tomato leaves (CRM 1753a, 34 ng g 1) and soil/sediment
(CRM008050, 720 ng Hg g 1), and the percentage of recovery
were 98% and 97%, respectively. The detection limit was 14 ng

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J. Marrugo-Negrete et al. / Chemosphere 127 (2015) 5863

Hg g 1 dry weight, calculated as the mean plus three times the target deviation (Buccolieri et al., 2006). The soil organic matter content (% OM) was determined using the WalkeyBlack method. The
pH was measured using a WTW 330i pH meter.
2.6. Translocation and bioconcentration factors
TF and BCF factors were estimated using the Hg concentrations
determined. The TF for the metals within a given plant was calculated as the ratio metal concentration in the shoots to the roots (Zu
et al., 2005). The BCF was expressed as the ratio metal concentration in the roots to that in soil (Yoon et al., 2006). Plants with both
BCFs and TFs greater than one (TF and BCF > 1) have the potential
to be used in phytoextraction.
2.7. Statistical analysis
The results were presented as the mean standard deviation of
triplicate determinations. The data were submitted to ANOVA test,
and mean comparisons were performed when needed using Tukey
tests. Pearson correlation was used to establish relationships
between variables. The statistical software Statgraphics Centurion
15.2.06 was used for all analysis. A signicance level of 0.05 was
selected.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Soil characterization
The chemical properties of the soils are shown in Table 1. The
pH of both experimental and control soils was acidic with similar
low organic matter contents. Organic matter content has a strong
inuence on the retention of heavy metals because has effects on
cation exchange and buffer capacities. Hence, organic soils lead
to a lower bioavailability and mobility of metals than those present
in mineral soils (Olaniran et al., 2013), whereas at low pH the metals tend to be found as free ionic species or even as soluble organometals, and they are more bioavailable (Sandrin and Hoffman,
2007). So, in accordance with soil properties (acidic pH, low%
OM), metals are more mobile and more bioavailable.
3.2. Growth behavior of plants
The growth behavior of J. curcas was determined by measuring
the biomass accumulation (Fig. 1). When Hg concentration
increased, the biomass accumulation signicantly decreased for
each exposure time. A statistically signicant difference (p < 0.05)
was found between plants exposed to a concentration of 10 lg
Hg g 1 and control-treated plants, which corresponded to a nal
biomass reduction of 16%. However, toxic effects such as chlorosis
and necrosis of leaves were not observed. Growth inhibition and
reduction of biomass production are frequently observed phenomena in plants exposed to toxic levels of Hg (Patra and Sharma,
2000). In fact, several studies have suggested that the growth inhibition of plants exposed to high levels of Hg produces signicant
toxic damage to cells (Ortega et al., 2007; Zhou et al., 2007). Likely
reductions in biomass may occur because extra energy is required
to counter the effects of Hg on tissues. On the other hand, the equilibrium of water and nutrient transport from the roots may also be
affected (Godbold and Huttermann, 1986), in particular because
the roots are subjected to direct contact with the contaminant
and consequently suffer damage from Hg exposure. Inhibition of
root development is the rst symptom of plant stress (Zornoza
et al., 2010); therefore, it is possible that this water stress may
be affecting plant biomass.

Fig. 1. Biomass accumulation of Jatropha curcas in Hg-contaminated soils by

different experimental treatments at different exposure times. Treatments: T0, T1,
T5, and T10 correspond to 0, 1, 5, and 10 lg Hg per g soil, respectively.

3.3. Mercury concentration in plants

The relative Hg absorption by plant tissues in decreasing order
was roots > leaves > stems (Table 2). The differences were statistically signicant between treatments (p < 0.05). In general, the
amount of Hg that is accumulated in the roots and aerial parts of
J. curcas rises as the Hg concentration in the soil and the exposure
time increases. These results are consistent with other studies,
which have also demonstrated that Hg concentration in roots
was higher than in shoots (Moreno et al., 2005; Cargnelutti et al.,
2006). This occurs because metal uptake by the roots is rapid compared with the transport to other plant tissues.
The Hg concentration in the roots was highest in the fourth
month of exposure (p < 0.05) in all treatments. This shows that
increasing exposure time favors an increase of Hg concentrations
in the roots that may be associated with their direct exposure to
the Hg in soil. The large quantities of Hg in the cell walls indicate
a mechanism that prevents toxic effects (necrosis and chlorosis)
in the superior parts of the plant (Wang and Greger, 2004).
This process is achieved through siderophore secretion (phytochelatins), where Hg is easily incorporated due to its sulfur amino
acid content (cysteine). This Hg is unavailable for translocation to
the stems, resulting in high Hg concentrations in the roots
(Cobbett, 2007). Furthermore, the Hg content in the leaves was
highest during the second month of exposure (p < 0.05). Potential
elemental mercury (Hg) uptake from the air through the stomata
and its release during the phytovolatilization process is an additional factor that should not be discarded. This process may modify
Hg concentration in leaves, indicating that not all Hg that reaches
the leaves is accumulated by them (Meagher and Heaton, 2005).
Higher THg concentrations were found in leaves than in stems in
all treatments and exposure times. According to Moreno et al.
(2005), the leaves are the nal Hg recipient of the plant and have
higher Hg levels than the stems. This is explained by the oxidation
state changes from Hg2+ to Hg0, since the latter is accumulated and
phytochelated into the vacuoles as a mechanism of toxicity resistance that leads to an increase in the Hg concentration in the tissue. The highest Hg content in the stems was observed during
the rst month of exposure (p < 0.05) for all treatment conditions.
This is due to an increase in the biomass as a function of exposure
time, which causes dilution of the Hg concentration in a process
similar to that which occurs in the leaves. Moreover, the primary
function of the stems is to conduct water, minerals, and food to
other parts of the plant, mainly to the leaves, and do not to accumulate them. In addition, the Hg accumulation in the stems is

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J. Marrugo-Negrete et al. / Chemosphere 127 (2015) 5863

Table 2
Mercury concentration (lg Hg g

, dry weight basis) in the roots, stems and leaves.

Treatment

Total*

Month
1

T1

Root
Stem
Leaf

0.65 0.04ab
0.15 0.02a
0.22 0.06ab

0.44 0.07b
0.10 0.01ab
0.30 0.04a

0.56 0.12ab
0.12 0.05ab
0.14 0.01b

0.85 0.08a
0.06 0.01b
0.16 0.04b

1.07 0.13

T2

Root
Stem
Leaf

1.82 0.11ab
0.33 0.09a
0.77 0.08ab

1.43 0.16b
0.22 0.04ab
0.91 0.16a

1.81 0.35ab
0.19 0.03ab
0.50 0.14b

2.77 0.17a
0.14 0.01b
0.34 0.09c

3.25 0.27

T3

Root
Stem
Leaf

3.42 0.90c
0.71 0.08a
0.95 0.10ab

1.87 0.61d
0.44 0.18ab
1.43 0.07a

4.61 0.91b
0.40 0.09ab
0.59 0.77b

6.67 1.10a
0.14 0.02b
0.44 0.08b

7.25 1.20

T0 (Control)

Root
Stem
Leaf

ND
ND
ND

ND
ND
ND

ND
ND
ND

ND
ND
ND

ND

Different lower-case letters indicate statistical signicance (p<0.05) between exposure times.
Treatments: T1: 1.0 lg Hg g 1, T2: 5.0 lg Hg g 1, T3: 10.0 lg Hg g 1, T0: control; ND: not detectable (n = 3). The detection limit for Hg was 14 ng g
Concentration of Hg accumulated in the plant (shoot and roots) at the end of the trial.

dry weight.

2.0

0.0020

1.6

0.0015

R = 0.9013
1.2

0.0010

Soil

0.8

Plant

R = 0.9722

0.4

0.0005

Hg in plant (mg)

Hg in soil (mg)

limited compared with the other plant tissues due to the high
retention of Hg by the roots (Vig et al., 2003; Cobbett, 2007). These
factors result in a lower Hg concentration in stems than in roots
and leaves. Results presented here showed that the maximum Hg
accumulating value was 7.25 lg Hg g 1 on dry weight basis (total
biomass of the plant) (see Table 2). For this reason, J. curcas is likely
a good candidate to be considered a potential Hg accumulation
plant species. Moreover, this species has the ability to adapt to
eroded soils, and it is easily found near gold mining areas.

a
0.0

3.4. Hg accumulation trends

0.0000

Time (months)
0.008

10

0.006

R = 0.9268
6
0.004
4

Soil
0.002

Plant

R = 0.9324
0

Hgi n plant (mg)

Hg in soil (mg)

0.000

Time (months)
0.020

20

15

0.016

R = 0.9647

0.012
10
0.008
R = 0.9561

Soil
soil

0.004

Plant
plant

Hg in plant (mg)

Hg in soil (mg)

The Hg accumulation trends for the different treatments were

very similar (Fig. 2). However, no toxic effects to J. curcas were
observed with exposure to 10 lg Hg g 1. Fig. 2c shows that a gradual decrease in the Hg content in the soil occurs, leading to a statistically signicant correlation between the exposure time and
the Hg content (r = 0.981, p < 0.05). Hg was continuously uptaken
by J. curcas during the four months of exposure, which is shown
as a statistically signicant correlation between Hg concentration
and exposure time in both the soil and plant tissues (r = 0.977,
p < 0.05). The cumulative Hg uptake was highest between the second and third month of exposure (p < 0.05). Between the periods
from months 1 to 2 and 3 to 4, a constant Hg uptake occurred in
the plants. Hg content did not decrease in plants during the exposure period, which indicates that this species may be exposed for
longer time and/or higher Hg concentrations. These results also
indicate that the plants do not use any tolerance mechanisms that
exclude or restrict metal uptake by the roots for the concentrations
and exposure times investigated. Accordingly, the soil Hg concentrations gradually decreased with time.
As described above, one Hg detoxication mechanism involves
the reduction of Hg from divalent mercury to elemental mercury,
which volatilizes by transpiration (Moreno et al., 2008). Hg phytoremediation efciency appears to be the result of an optimum
coordination of the transfer and biochemical transformation of
mercury ion species to Hg vapor. This efciency depends not only
on the transpiration ux dynamics but also on low circulation
between the structural components of the plant. Thus, the Hg
capacity and accumulation kinetics compete against Hg transport
in the transpiration ux. Therefore, time is required for xylem
equilibrium to be reached before Hg reduction in the leaves begins
(Van Nevel et al., 2007). This process may occur between the rst
and second month of Hg exposure when, compared with other
exposure times, the Hg content does not considerably increase.

c
0.000

Time (months)
Fig. 2. Development of Hg content in the soil and plant during four months of
exposure. Treatments: (a) T1: 1.0 lg Hg g 1; (b) T5: 5.0 lg Hg g 1; (c) T10: 10.0 lg
Hg g 1.

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J. Marrugo-Negrete et al. / Chemosphere 127 (2015) 5863

Table 3
Translocation (TF) and bioconcentration (BCF) factors.
Treatment
T1

T2

T3

Month

TF

BCF

TF

BCF

TF

BCF

1
2
3
4

0.56
0.94
0.49
0.26

0.72
0.52
0.71
1.43

0.61
0.79
0.39
0.18

0.41
0.35
0.47
0.91

0.51
1.04
0.22
0.10

0.36
0.21
0.69
1.32

Treatments: T1: 1.0 lg Hg g

; T2: 5.0 lg Hg g

; T3: 10.0 lg Hg g

the aerial parts of the plant were relatively low, J. curcas is a good
choice for the phytoremediation of mercury-contaminated soil
because it is easy to plant and maintain and contributes to soil conservation and restoration. Moreover, this species has the ability to
adapt to eroded soils, and it is easily found near gold mining areas.
The most important variables governing the rate of Hg removal
from the soil are the exposure time and the Hg contamination
level. The results of this study expand our knowledge of the Hg tolerance, absorption and translocation capacity of J. curcas.

Acknowledgment
3.5. Translocation and bioconcentration factors
To evaluate the ability of J. curcas to translocate Hg from the
roots to the aerial parts of the plant, the TF was calculated (Table 3).
The relative TFs for different exposure times in decreasing order
were TF month 2 > TF month 1 > TF month 3 > TF month 4. Several
authors have reported that Hg translocation from the roots to the
aerial parts of the plant occurs when the TF is higher than 1, a value
that is characteristic of accumulator plants (Baker, 1981; Raskin
and Ensley, 2000; Tu et al., 2003). Although the TFs were lower
than 1 for months 1 and 2, the TF was close to the one for month
2. Therefore, the results of the study indicate that Hg is highly
transferable during the early periods of exposure. In fact, in all
treatments, TF values for month 1 and 2 are higher than these
for the rest of the months, reaching maximum values at month 2
(close to 1), and above the unity for treatment T3.
One possible reason to explain that the highest Hg translocation
occurred during the second month of exposure is that the roots
explore a higher volume of soil during this period, promoting better Hg uptake (Zornoza et al., 2010). During later months, the volume of the soil in the container becomes a limiting factor. Khan
et al. (2009) indicated that when the TF is close to 0.1, exclusion
of metal from plant tissue occurs. This was observed for treatments
T2 and T3 during the fourth month of exposure and may indicate a
resistance to the contaminant by the plant to avoid toxic effects on
the tops (Lindqvist et al., 1991; Qian et al., 2009) therefore, Hg
decreased its translocation.
The threshold value for the BCF is always 1, which indicates Hg
accumulation behavior in plants (Melgar et al., 2009). The BCF values were lower than 1 for the rst three months of exposure for all
treatments (Table 3). Therefore, the plant could be classied as Hg
resistant even though it has the capacity to uptake Hg. Thus,
although TF values near 1 indicate metal transport toward the
superior parts of the plant in the two rst months of exposure,
the BCF values indicate a low probability that the metals were signicantly transferred to the plant.
The BCF values during the fourth month of exposure for
treatments T1 and T3 were above the unity, while the value
for treatment T2 was close to 1. Consequently, J. curcas can be
considered a great Hg accumulating species for longer exposure
times. In the present study, a high BCF and low TF were found at
the end of the exposure period, showing that the bioconcentration to translocation process may depend on the plant species
characteristics. The ability of the plants to tolerate high Hg
concentrations in the soil may be due to restriction in metal
absorption and increased translocation toward the leaves with
increasing exposure time.
4. Conclusions
Growth and development of J. curcas plants occurred despite
the presence of high amounts (up to 10 lg g 1) Hg in the soil.
The highest Hg concentrations were accumulated in the roots followed by the leaves and stems. Although the Hg levels absorbed by

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Colombian Institute for

the Development of Science and Technology Francisco Jos de
Caldas (COLCIENCIAS) and the University of Cordoba, Montera,
Colombia, for nancing the project codied 1112-489-25604
contract 472.
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