RESISTENCIA AL CIANURO Y BIOACUMULACIÓN DE ELEMENTOS POTENCIALMENTE TÓXICOS EN ESPECIES VEGETALES DESÉRTICAS CRECIDAS EN RESIDUOS MINEROS ALCALINOS: ESTUDIO DE SUPERVIVENCIA AMBIENTAL

<p><strong>Background:</strong> The waste generated at the end of a mining process contains potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and, depending on the extraction method, may also contain cyanide. These threaten ecosystems because PTEs are non-biodegradable and can accumulate in organisms through bioaccumulation. Cyanide is particularly dangerous as it is highly toxic and can inhibit the growth of plant species that could be used in phytoremediation. <strong>Objective:</strong> To evaluate the cyanide survival capacity of four desert native plant species from the state of Baja California, and their ability to phytostabilize EPTs. <strong>Methodology:</strong> Completely randomized experiments were conducted under greenhouse conditions, using experimental units with mine tailings amended with four different proportions of plant compost as a mine tailings improver (0 %, 5 %, 10 %, and 15 %). Four native plant species were used for the study: <em>Prosopis</em> sp., <em>Psorothamnus spinosus</em>, <em>Pluchea sericea</em>, and <em>Encelia farinosa</em>. <strong>Results:</strong> <em>Prosopis</em> sp. demonstrated a high survival capacity in mine tailings containing cyanide (155 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>) and potentially toxic elements accumulated mainly in the root. <strong>Implications: </strong>Many plant species show adverse effects on their growth and development due to the toxicity of these elements. Furthermore, phytostabilizing species must be able to survive the climatic conditions of the area where this technique is implemented and tolerate cyanide. <strong>Conclusion: </strong>It was demonstrated that <em>Prosopis</em> sp. has phytostabilizing capacity by accumulating higher PTE concentrations in its roots without exceeding concentrations in the aerial part. The optimal treatments for this technique were those with 10 % and 15 % compost, which helped the species tolerate cyanide. Therefore, <em>Prosopis</em> sp. is confirmed as an effective native species for phytostabilization.</p>