The Effects of Seasonal Variations on Typha capensis and Heliconia psittacorum in the Remediation of Heavy Metals from Soil and Water

Abstract

Different plant species have been used in the remediation of different heavy metals. The performance of a macrophyte to remediate heavy metals may be dependent on a lot of factors which may include water chemistry, metal solubilityand temperature. The objective of this research was to ascertain the effects of seasonal variations on the remediation of heavy metals. To this end,two macrophytes: Typha capensis and Heliconia psittacorum were employed in the remediation of Arsenic, Lead, Mercury and Cadmium under two seasons (dry and wet). The plants were dosed withknown concentrations of the heavy metals under different temperature and humidity for a period of forty days. The plant samples were subjected to heavy metal analysis by Atomic absorption spectroscopy. The exposure of the heavy metals uptake under seasonal variations showed that, the remediation of the four selected heavy metals by the two plants were very effective during the dry weather conditions than that of the wet weather conditions.