Screening Dominant Species and Exploring Heavy Metals Repair Ability of Wild Vegetation for Phytoremediation in Copper Mine

Xiaoli Wang, Caihong Tao and Lizhe An ()
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Xiaoli Wang: School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Caihong Tao: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Lizhe An: School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Phytoremediation, a sustainable approach, is a hot topic, particularly for harsh mining environments. The Baiyin copper mine, a typical example of massive sulfide deposits, retains value as a national park after closure. Our research on it aimed to explore phytoremediation. By studying the plant community’s phyto-sociological attributes, we found that plants maintained long-term stability, with restoration potential. And the top-level dominant species, Lycium chinense and Nitraria tangutorum , were selected as candidate repair plants based on importance value. Then, we assessed soil heavy metals using pollution indices and found that Pb, As, and Cd were the primary contributors, along with Cu and Zn, causing pollution. Next, we determined the repair ability of two candidate repair plants through their accumulation effect and transport efficiency, finding that both had strong tolerance to these heavy metals and accumulated similar amounts, except for Cu, which was slightly lower than expected; however, Lycium compensated for this with its higher Cu conversion rate, leading to its final recommendation. Lycium has an uncommon advantage: during extraction of active ingredients, it can remove heavy metals as impurities, preserving economic value. This discovery provides the idea, theoretical basis, and pioneer plant for the phytoremediation of sulfide deposits like the Baiyin copper mine, particularly in northwestern China’s mining regions.

Keywords: mine; heavy metals; pioneer plant; phytoremediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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