Assessment of heavy metals uptake of native plant species naturally grown in soil irrigated treated wastewater at Serapium Agro Forest, Ismailia city

In the Egyptian desert, Serapium Agroforest uses sustainable land management and eco-friendly phytoremediation. The present study examined the phytoremediation efficacy of native plants growing naturally on soil irrigated with treated wastewater in Serapium agroforest, Ismailia City. The native plants were Hyoscyamus muticus, Zygophylum album, Alhagi grocourum, Chenopodium mural, Malva parviflora, Senecio vulgaris, and Withania somnifera. All of the analyzed heavy metals (HMs) (Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Co) were under safe levels in recorded species. The seven native plants were grown on pH 7.9 soil with a PLI of 0.87. Pb increases with soil pH. Seven species' phytoremediation effectiveness (BCF), translocation factor (TF), and shoot enrichment coefficient (TC) were considered. Malva parviflora had the highest BCF and TC for Pb (1.15), whereas all other species had BCF and TC below unity. TF of HMs was found higher-than-unity in reported species. Results show that all species can grow in slightly alkaline soil with low HMs. Malva parviflora was best for phytoextraction and Pb cleanup.