Environmental Survey of the Distribution and Metal Contents of Pteris vittata in Arsenic–Lead–Mercury-Contaminated Gold Mining Areas along the Bone River in Gorontalo Province, Indonesia

Nurfitri Abdul Gafur, Masayuki Sakakibara, Satoru Komatsu, Sakae Sano and Koichiro Sera
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Nurfitri Abdul Gafur: Regional Planning Agency—Research and Development of Bone Bolango, Bone Bolango 96562, Indonesia
Masayuki Sakakibara: Faculty of Collaborative Regional Innovation, Ehime University, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan
Sakae Sano: Faculty of Education, Ehime University, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan
Koichiro Sera: Cyclotron Research Center, Iwate Medical University, Takizawa 020-01673, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: In this paper, we report ecological and environmental investigations on Pteris vittata in the As–Pb–Hg-polluted Bone River area, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia. The density distribution of P. vittata decreases from around the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) site to the lower reaches of the Bone River, and it is rarely found near Gorontalo City. The maximum concentrations of As, Hg, and Pb recorded in the soil samples were 401, 36, and 159 mg kg −1 , respectively, with their maximum concentrations in P. vittata recorded as 17,700, 5.2, and 39 mg kg −1 , respectively. Around the ASGM sites, the concentrations of As, Pb, and Hg in P. vittata were highest in the study area. These data suggest that P. vittata , a hyperaccumulator of As, may be useful as a bioindicator for assessing environmental pollution by Pb and Hg.

Keywords: artisanal and small-scale gold mining; Pteris vittata; absorption; arsenic; mercury; lead; Bone River; Gorontalo Province; Indonesia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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