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Assessment of Trace Metal Concentrations in Lythrum Salicaria at Three Rhode Island Sites Using ICP-MS Analysis

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Assessment of Trace Metal Concentrations in Lythrum Salicaria at Three Rhode Island Sites Using ICP-MS Analysis Bryant University Bryant Digital Repository Master of Science in Global Environmental Studies Graduate Theses 6-2015 Assessment of Trace Metal Concentrations in Lythrum salicaria at Three Rhode Island Sites Using ICP-MS Analysis Allison Rose Hubbard Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.bryant.edu/msglobalenv Recommended Citation Hubbard, Allison Rose, "Assessment of Trace Metal Concentrations in Lythrum salicaria at Three Rhode Island Sites Using ICP-MS Analysis" (2015). Master of Science in Global Environmental Studies. Paper 2. https://digitalcommons.bryant.edu/msglobalenv/2 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Theses at Bryant Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Science in Global Environmental Studies by an authorized administrator of Bryant Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Assessment of Trace Metal Concentrations in Lythrum salicaria at Three Rhode Island Sites Using ICP-MS Analysis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Bryant University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science, Global Environmental Studies (MSGES) ©Allison Rose Hubbard Bryant University June 2015 ii Allison Hubbard Bryant University Acknowledgements I would like to thank all of the individuals who helped me to complete my graduate thesis research. My thanks to Julia Crowley-Parmentier for her guidance in the instrumentation and input in the writing process, Jaqueline Kratch and other previous students who developed and tested select protocols, and Dan McNally as the chair of the department. I wish to thank Phyllis Schumacher and Alan Olinsky for their invaluable help with statistics analysis. I would also like to thank Brian Blais for his help in creating innovative visualization of the data. My warmest thanks to the graduate committee (Gaytha Langlois, Qin Leng, Dan McNally, and Hong Yang) for their valued input and guidance throughout the editing process. My deepest gratitude to Gaytha Langlois for her continued guidance and mentorship throughout the thesis process. iii Allison Hubbard Bryant University Abstract Throughout human history terrestrial environments have been disturbed and contaminated through improper waste practices and disposal methods. New technology has emerged for cleanup and mitigation, but may cause additional ecosystem perturbance. One way of reducing ecological stress is to utilize bioremediation, mainly phytoremediation. Due to its persistence in polluted environments Lythrum salicaria (Purple Loosestrife), an invasive plant species, was thought to have the potential to uptake pollutants (such as heavy trace metals) from the environment and thus help to effectively clean up a polluted environment. Three Rhode Island sites with large stands of L. salicaria were studied by analyzing plant and soil samples. All sites had potentially been exposed to some contamination, as a result of being located near a roadway or industrial operation, or in the path of storm water runoff. ICP-MS was used to analyze trace metal levels of Zn, Mg, Ca, Cr, Ni, Mn, Cu, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Ba, and Pb in all samples. Trace metal levels were compared between the whole plant and soils as differentiated by site, as well as among plant leaves, stems, roots, and at each site. None of the trace metal levels (in soils or plant tissues) were above soil and plant regulatory standards. The highest concentration of metals within plant tissue varied among organs (e.g., Zn, Mg, and Ca concentrated in the leaves while other metals, e.g., Cr, concentrated in the roots). While some trace metal levels were higher in plant tissue than the soils (e.g., Ca, Zn, and Cr) others were not. The high density of clustered populations of L. salicaria would enhance the effectiveness of the plant’s phytoremediation capacity even when the concentration of a particular metal is only slightly higher than ambient soil levels. Keywords: Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, ICP-MS, Trace Metal Uptake, Bioremediation, Phytoremediation, In-situ Remediation iv Allison Hubbard Bryant University Table of Contents Title Page and Statement of Use and Copyright……………………………………….i Signature Page...……………………………………………………………………....ii Acknowledgements…….…………………………………………………………….iii Abstract………………...…………………………………………………………......iv Table of Contents…………………………………..……………………………………v List of Tables………………………………………………………..…………..viii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………ix List of Abbreviations……………..…………………………..………..………….x Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review…………………………………….1-1 Statement of Importance…………………………………………..…………….1-1 Invasive Species…………………………………………………….…………..1-1 Description of Lythrum salicaria.…………………………………………….1-3 Introduction to North America and Uses……………………….……………….1-5 Spread and Removal Efforts…………………………………………………….1-5 Conflicting Opinions and Evidence……………………………….……….……1-6 Indicator of Human Disturbance and Pollution……………………..……….….1-6 Bioremediation and Phytoremediation as In-Situ Remediation………..……….1-7 Possibility of Pollution Uptake………………………………………...………..1-8 Scope of Project…………………………………………………………………1-9 Chapter 2: Materials and Methods………...………………………..………………..2-1 Location and Site Description…………………………………………………..2-1 Description of Samples……………………………………………...…………..2-1 v Allison Hubbard Bryant University Procedures and Instrumentation……………………………………..………….2-4 Field Sampling………………………………………………..…………2-4 Field Procedure (Repeated at Each Sample Site)…………….…………2-5 Preserving Samples………………………………………………………..…….2-8 Soil Storage………………………………………………………...……2-9 Sample Preparation……………………………………………………………2-9 Acid Digestion………………………………………………………..2-10 ICP-MS……………………………………………………………………..….2-13 Data Analysis Techniques………………………………………………….….2-16 Chapter 3: Results……………………………………………………..………………3-1 Site Characterization and Plant Ecology………………………………………3-1 ICP-MS Results…………………………………………………………………3-3 Chapter 4: Discussion of Results……………………………………………...………4-1 Plant Biology and Ecology……………………………………………….……..4-1 Trace Metal Discussion…………………………………………………………4-4 Regulatory Comparison………………………………………………………..4-13 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations………………………………..……5-1 Appendices……………………………………………………………………….……A-1 References………………………………………………………………………..…….R-1 vi Allison Hubbard Bryant University List of Tables Table 1-1……………………………………………………………………………..….1-3 Depicts the taxonomic organization of Lythrum salicaria Table 4-1…………………………………………………...……………………………4-5 Depicts a comparison of trace metal levels found in this study to previously published values Table 4-2……………………………………………………………………………….4-14 Depicts a comparison of trace metal levels found in this study to regulatory standards from several agencies Table 4-3……………………………………………………………………………….4-16 Depicts a comparison per ug/g of trace metals to dry weight of plant tissue vii Allison Hubbard Bryant University List of Figures Figure 1-1…………………..…………………………………….……………………..1-4 Photo of Lythrum salicaria in native environment Figure 1-2……………………………………………………………………….………1-5 A diagram of physiological structures of Lythrum salicaria Figure 3-1……………………………………………………………………….………3-1 Field photos of the three separate sample sites in Rhode Island Figure 3-2……………………………………………………………………………….3-2 Concentrations of Zn in Lythrum salicaria and soil Figure 3-3……………………………………………………………………………….3-3 Concentrations of Mg and Ca in Lythrum salicaria and soil Figure 3-4……………………………………………………………………………….3-4 Concentrations of Levels of Cr and Ni in Lythrum salicaria and soil Figure 3-5……………………………………………………………………………….3-5 Concentrations of Mn and Cu in Lythrum salicaria and soil Figure 3-6……………………………………………………………………………….3-6 Concentrations of As and Se in Lythrum. salicaria and soil Figure 3-7……………………………………………………………………………….3-7 Concentrations of and Ag and Cd in Lythrum salicaria and soil Figure 3-8……………………………………………………………………………….3-8 Concentrations of Ba and Pb in Lythrum salicaria and soil Figure 3-9…………………………………………………………………………...…..3-9 Concentrations of Ba, Mg, Ca, and Ni in Lythrum salicaria and soil Figure 3-10…………………………………………………………………………….3-10 Concentrations of Cd and Cu in Lythrum salicaria and soil viii Allison Hubbard Bryant University List of Abbreviations Maximum Contaminant Level……………………………………………..…….MCL National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…………………….………NOAA Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management………………..…….RI DEM Parts per Billion…………...……………………………………………………………ppb Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry……………….…………………ICP-MS Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy……………...…….ICP-AES ix Allison Hubbard Bryant University Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review Statement of Importance The purpose of this study is to examine the uptake and sequestration capabilities of the invasive macrophyte Lythrum salicaria L. 1753 (Purple Loosestrife) in regard to selected trace metals (1). The uptake and sequestration of trace metals could be an indicator that L. salicaria could potentially be viewed as a gauge of human disturbance in an ecosystem, and as a potential mode of phytoremediation. It was observed in a previous study that instead of a strict monoculture, as described in the literature, native loosestrife was routinely comingled with invasive L. salicaria in field samples (2). Many locations that had L. salicaria present appeared to be within zones that were known to have had previous human disturbance, or nearby current human disturbance (2). These earlier observations prompted the current
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