A Review of Plant Bioindicators in Wetlands

Abstract

With the increasing human population, the protection of water resources is becoming a critical issue. Wetlands are one of the most important water resources, helping assimilate pollutants. Hence, the ecosystem integrity of wetlands is important. Plant bioindicators with phytoremediation (physiologically removing pollutants from the ecosystem by plants) capacity can be very helpful in this regard. Based on the current literature, this study specifically aims to overview plant bioindicators with phytoremediation ability. A systemic literature review (SLR) method was used to find a detailed overview of the most relevant research. A total of 70 plants were identified as bioindicators. Out of all the indicator plants, Phragmites australis, Sorghum saccharatum, Lepidium sativum, Sinapis alba, Apium nodiflorum, Arundo donax, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Juncus acutus, Nasturtium officinale, Typha angustifolia and Typha domingensis was identified as the most studied bioindicator plants. The literature review revealed that these plant bioindicators had treatment impacts on metals, nutrients, urban runoffs and wastewater. According to studies, the roots of these plant bioindicators are primarily for absorbing pollutants, which is a specific physiological property of phytoremediation. Hence, the study concluded that for specific waste materials this set of plant bioindicators can be strong contenders for understanding wetland ecosystem integrity and their physiological mechanisms of phytoremediation can provide a blueprint for developing “bioindicators” for wetlands.