Soils strongly enriched in arsenic in historical mining sites pose the environmental risk. Phytostabilization is a reasonable method for their remediation. A suitability of red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) for this purpose was examined. Plant and soil material was collected from four study objects: mine dumps in Złoty Stok and Czarnów and two areas formerly flooded by tailings. Total As in soils ranged 72-48900 mg/kg, while the shoots and roots of red fescue contained 1.5-65.5 and 2.3-824 mg/kg As, respectively. Bioaccumulation BAF and translocation TF factors were typical for excluders, however, in most cases, As in shoots exceeded 4 mg/kg, an EU threshold for As in fodder. A greenhouse experiment, that involved treatment with mineral fertilizers, manure, and forest litter, was performed to closer examine the factors governing As uptake by red fescue. A stress-resistant cultivar Leo-Pol was used as a test plant. Grass shoots were harvested after 6 and 12 weeks. Manure treatment increased strongly As extractability but did not increase As uptake by plants. Though, As concentrations in plants were in the pot experiment by manifold higher than those in the field. Particularly high (66.5-1580 mg/kg) was As in the second shoot harvest. Differences between the field and greenhouse data indicate that the populations of red fescue, that develop in As rich sites, are specifically As-tolerant. Possible mechanisms of tolerance are discussed. The conclusion is that the commercial cultivar, despite declared stress-resistance, cannot be used for phytostabilization of barren As-rich soils.
Keywords: Arsenic; Grass; Mine dump; Phytoavailability; Tailings; Tolerance.
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