Wetland plants’ chemical ecology for iron of a ramsar site in an indo-burma hotspot: In-situ bioaccumulation and phytoremediation implications

Abstract

Biogeochemistry of iron in wetlands is inextricably linked with chemical ecology of aquatic biota impacting the ecology of wetland plants and human health. Therefore, its bio-accumulation in plants is of extreme eco-technological relevance in quest of potential phytoremediation tools. To this end, the Fe concentrations in water and four invasive alien macrophytes (Eichhornia crassipes, Lemna minor, Pistia stratiotes and Salvinia cucullata) of Loktak lake (a Ramsar Site) were measured. Further, the outcome of the present research can assess the efficiency of these plants in Fe-phytoremediation. Concomitantly, to get an explicit Fe-macrophyte’s chemical ecology scenario of Loktak lake, physicochemical parameters as well as biodiversity attributes were also investigated. Results revealed that among the four plant species, Pistia stratiotes accumulated the highest amount of Fe concentration and thus act as the best bio-accumulator of Fe. Further, the extent of Fe bio-accumulation was as Pistia stratiotes>Lemna minor>Eichhornia crassipes>Salvinia cucullata. The study revealed the importance of the selected invasive wetland plants as the potential bio-agents of Fe accumulation.