METALLOPHYTES IN THE LJUBIJA MINE AREA AND THEIR POTENTIAL IN PHYTOREMEDIATION

This study focused on a landfill flotation tailing pond of the “Ljubija” iron ore mine, which is habitat covered by sparse vegetation consisted by specific plant groups. The following plant species were selected: Rumex hydrolapathum, Silene vulgaris, Tussilago farfara, Arabis hirsuta, Acer pseudoplatanus and Populus alba. The plants were collected and processed for the determination of the content of toxic metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Cr) aiming to evaluate their phytoremediation potential. At the same time, the content of toxic metals in the soil was analyzed to determine the degree of loading and the possibility of cleaning the area with phytoremediation techniques. The sequence of bioaccumulation in the tissue of all examined species decreased in the order Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Ni > Cr. The values of phytoaccumulation factors BCF and BAC for all investigated elements were below 1, except for Fe and Mn, which indicates a medium to poor accumulation potential of the investigated species. An exception was recorded in the plant A. hirsuta where BCF > 1 for Cr. The translocation coefficient (TA > 1) for Cu and Mn was determined for R. hydrolapathum, for Cu and Zn in A. pseudoplatanus, for Cu, Zn, and Ni in T. farfara, and Zn in A. hirsuta, which classifies these species as effective in techniques of phytostabilization of the researched area. These data are the first research in the area of the Iron Ore Mine Ljubija, which is of great interest to determine the level of contamination of soil and plants with toxic metals, and to remediate the same with phytoremediation techniques.