Heavy Metal Tolerance in Plants: Evolutionary Aspects

TL;DR: In this article, the authors started their famous book Ecological Methodology with the following statement: ‘Ecologists collect data and, as in other fields in biology, the data they collect are to be used for testing hypotheses’.

TL;DR: In this article, the residual influence of Pb on some Telfairia occidentalis agronomic characters and soil chemical properties was investigated in both greenhouse and field trials at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Benin City.

Abstract: Environmental, biological monitoring becomes an important approach to assess the extent of environmental pollution in the current status of the ecosystem’s quality. Hence, this review paper aims to identify the most suitable biomarkers for environmental biomonitoring and determine the different bioremediation approaches. This different bioremediation approaches in the terrestrial ecosystem across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao need to be developed and promulgated. As found in the review, heavy metals like mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium, copper, zinc, magnesium, potassium, iron, manganese, and nickel are among the reported pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems including agricultural pesticides that contribute to soil pollution. Through pollutants assessment in the terrestrial ecosystem, bioindicators to human hair, lichens, and biomarker in chromosomal damage indicate genotoxicity at the chromosomal level. This apparent occurrence in environmental pollutants is associated with the degradation of environmental quality affecting biological species in the terrestrial ecosystem that requires remediation approaches to restore the air and soil quality. These phytoremediation approaches have shown evidence in the studies conducted in the Philippines’ mine tailings to identify potential tropical are phytoremediators for phytoremediation. Furthermore, immobilization techniques, soil washing, and phytostabilization approach are applicable in the country. Finally, the available literature on environmental biomonitoring of the Volume 32 · July 2020 3 terrestrial ecosystems in the Philippines, which focused more on biomonitoring studies and bioassessments, is still a pressing need.

TL;DR: The capacity of some plants to survive on soils that contain high concentrations of certain (heavy) metals has fascinated ecologists for decades and the topic has its applied aspects as well.