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Phytoextraction is a promising technology for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soil. Continuously screening potential plants is important for enhancing the efficiency of remediation. In this study, fourteen local native plant species and four cultivated plant species, along with their paired soils, were collected from around a copper smelter. The characteristics of soil pollution were evaluated using contaminant factors (CF) and a geoaccumulation index (Igeo). The phytoextraction potential of plants was investigated using the translocation factor (TF) and bioconcentration factor (BCF). The soils around the smelter were very acidic, with a mean pH of 5.01. The CF for copper and cadmium were 8.67–32.3 and 5.45–44.2, and the Igeo values for copper and cadmium were 2.43–4.43 and −0.12–2.29, respectively, indicating that the level of soil contamination was moderate to severe. The copper concentrations in the root (357 mg/kg), shoot (219 mg/kg), and leaf (269 mg/kg) of Elsholtzia splendens Nakai were higher than that in the other species. The cadmium in the shoot (32.2 mg/kg) and leaf (18.5 mg/kg) of Sedum plumbizincicola was the highest, and Phytolacca acinosa Roxb. had the highest cadmium level (20 mg/kg) in the root. Soil total and CaCl2-extractable copper and cadmium were positively correlated with copper and cadmium in the plant roots, respectively. The results of TF and BCF for copper and cadmium suggested that the accumulation and translocation capacities for cadmium were higher than those of copper in the eighteen plant species. Although not all plants met the criteria of being hyperaccumulators, Sedum plumbizincicola, Mosla chinensis Maxim, and Elsholtzia splendens Nakai showed the most potential as candidates for the phytoextraction of copper and cadmium contaminated soils, as indicated by their TF and BCF values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the soil contamination and the accumulation of arsenic (As) and heavy metals including chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in 15 native and cultivated plant species in a Pb recycling area of Dong Mai village, Hung Yen Province, Vietnam. The analysis of 32 soil samples collected from seven different sites in the study area revealed that the contents of Al, Fe, As, Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in the soils ranged from 6200–32,600, 11,300–55,500, 5.4–26.8, 24.9–290, 66.0–252, 143–455, 0.71–1.67, and 370–47,400 mg/kg, respectively. The contents of As, Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in rice grains and the shoots of 15 plant species ranged from 0.14–10.2, 1.00–10.2, 5.19–23.8, 34.7–165, 0.06–0.99, and 2.83–1160 mg/kg-dry weight (DW), respectively. Hymenachne acutigluma (Steud.) Gilliland, a potential hyperaccumulator of Pb (1160 mg/kg-DW), is considered the best candidate for phytoremediation of Pb-contaminated soil. The cultivation of rice and vegetables, and the use of some native plants for food for humans, pigs, and cattle should be managed with consideration of the accumulation of Pb in their aboveground biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]