Evaluation of tolerance and morpho-physiological responses of Astronium graveolens to the addition of lead in the soil

Abstract

The lead occurs naturally in nature, but human activities have contributed to contamination in the soil, making it a major problem. In recent years researchers are looking for remediation techniques to try decontaminating soils and among them the phytoremediation is one process that involve plants. One process of phytoremediation is using native plants, but the number of studies in this area can be considered low. Guaritá (Astronium graveolens Jacq.) is a Brazilian Cerrado species and plants from that biome are known to present adaptations and modifications when subjected to some type of environmental stress. Samples of the vegetative organs will be fixed, dehydrated, embedded in synthetic resin and sectioned for mounting histological slides and subsequent anatomical analysis in order to check for changes in the different treatments of soil contamination levels by lead. Tolerance Index will be calculated for the species and lead will be quantified in the different organs of the species. The aim of the study is to evaluate whether a Brazilian Cerrado species (Astronium graveonlens) could be used as phytoremediator in soils contaminated with lead (Pb), evaluating morpho-physiological changes and which organs are potential allocators of this metal in the plant. (AU)