TITLE:
Effect of Cadmium and Zinc on Growing Barley
AUTHORS:
N. Kherbani, N. Abdi, H. Lounici
KEYWORDS:
Cadmium, Zinc, Plants, Barley, Phytoextraction
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.6 No.2,
February
25,
2015
ABSTRACT: The accumulation of metals, in particular of metals known as heavy in the
plants poses problem. However, so with the state of traces, these metals are essential to the life, they
can with stronger concentrations appear toxic. So to limit
the risks, we have to study the effects of these pollutants on the living organisms. Among
the techniques of phytorehabilitation, we find the phytoextraction. So, we are interested
in the phytoextraction in the barley (Hordium vulgare) of a soil contaminated
artificially by zinc and cadmium and the influence of these metals presence on
the barley growth. The results show that the barley is tolerant in the zinc and
the cadmium; it presents no sign of stress after 4 weeks of culture in soil
contaminated by these metals. The accumulated zinc arrests at the level of
roots and it is not transferred towards the air parts. On the other hand, the
barley accumulates more cadmium compared to zinc.