METAL TOLERANCE AND PHYTOACCUMULATION POTENTIAL OF DRYOPTERIS PENTHERI (KRASSER) C. CHR

Globally, heavy metals from natural and anthropogenic activities cause serious health and environmental risks, especially in water systems.Phytoremediation is a promising approach for removing metal contaminants in the environment.The present study aimed to evaluate the ability of a fern, Dryopteris pentheri (Krasser) C. Chr. to take up, accumulate, and tolerate heavy metals.The study was conducted in a controlled environment where plants were cultivated in 20 L dishes filled with wetland water for 7 days under control, low and high metal concentrations.Overall, D. pentheri contained high concentrations of selected metals; however, composition and concentrations differed across plant parts, with roots containing exceptionally high concentrations of Na, Mg, and K.Both bioaccumulation and translocation factors were greater than 1 for some selected metals in the roots, indicating that D. pentheri is a hyperaccumulator and has shown the ability to tolerate metals by increasing chlorophyll content under high metal concentrations after prolonged exposure.Therefore, D. pentheri stands as a good candidate for removing metals from aquatic environments.