Assessment of heavy metal uptake in lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) from contaminated urban sediment

The high heavy metal and metalloid contents in sediment have been considered one of the major environmental problems due to their associated environmental threats. To reduce the environmental risk from contaminated sediment, application of gentle remediation options (GRO) by non-edible plant species or phytoremediation could be an effective environment- friendly management option. The aim of this study was to use lavender (Lavandula angustifolia L. cv. Hidcote Blue) and assess the heavy metal and metalloid uptake and bioconcentration factor (BCF) from the contaminated urban sediment and its potential in GRO management. In this pilot study, L. angustifolia was cultivated in control (0) soil and combined growth substrate (sediment + soil) for eight weeks. The heavy metal and metalloid concentrations in both L. angustifolia and the sediment were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Both roots and shoots accumulated higher levels of Cd and Zn from the mixed media compared to the control and their BCF values > 1. In addition, the Pb shoot BCF values were significantly higher than the root BCF values. The results from this short-term phytoremediation study suggest that L. angustifolia could accumulate heavy metals from contaminated sediment and could be a strong potential candidate for GRO-based management. However, it is suggested that before implementation in the field trial, long-term cultivation and careful analysis of different biotic and abiotic parameters need to be included.