Pournavab, RF; Céspedes-Cabriales, AE; Alvarado-Vázquez, MA; Badii, ZMH; Cepeda, TT; Maiti, RK
The region of influence of the basin of the Panuco river, including the urban zone of the city of Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico and the north of Veracruz state, contains an elevated level of polluted water, owing to the discharges of urban and agroindustrial water, and also due to the effects of the biomagnification of toxic compounds such as the heavy metals accumulated in mangrove ecosystems prevalent in these regions. This investigation was conducted to analyse the decontamination capacity of the mangroves species in the lagoon of La Costa and Estero Garrapatas, Vera Cruz, Mexico. The dynamics and indices of mangrove species were determined following the methodology of Shannon's diversity, Sörensen's affinity, and assessing forestry production, exploitation and the content of heavy metals at each site. The dominant species were Rhizophora mangle (3-13 m), Laguncularia racemosa (6-8 m), Avicennia germinans (6-13 m) and Conocarpus erectus (>2 m). Starting from north to south, the dominance changed from A. germinans to L. racemosa. This last species was the most exploited, having the highest dominance, density, and an importance value of 71.2%; the next species was R. mangle with 66.6%. The heavy metals of the sediments were Cd (1.09-2.82), Pb (9.75-12.57) and Cr (6.07-9.61 mg/kg of dry mass), respectively, from Estero Garrapata and the Lagoon La Costa. The lead and cadmium content on the base of dry plant mass indicate that L. racemosa fixes 52% of lead in comparison to R. mangle only with 46%. These results demonstrate that the mangrove may be effectively used as bioremedial agents to reduce the contaminants originated from the discharges of industrial water, which are fixed from the sediments by R. mangle (37%) and L. racemosa (42%).
biological filtration; bioremediation; cadmium; chromium; decontamination; heavy metals; industrial wastes; lead; mangroves; phytoremediation; pollutants; polluted water; sewage; toxic substances; trees; water pollution; water quality; Gulf of Mexico; Mexico; Avicennia germinans; Conocarpus erectus; Laguncularia racemosa; Rhizophora mangle; Western Central Atlantic; Atlantic Ocean; oceans; marine areas; North America; America; Developing Countries; Threshold Countries; Latin America; OECD Countries; Avicennia; Verbenaceae; Lamiales; dicotyledons; angiosperms; Spermatophyta; plants; eukaryotes; Conocarpus; Combretaceae; Myrtales; Laguncularia; Rhizophora; Rhizophoraceae; Rhizophorales; biofilters; poisons; water composition and quality; Forests and Forest Trees (Biology and Ecology) (KK100); Aquatic Biology and Ecology (MM300); Water Resources (PP200); Wetlands (PP320); Pollution and Degradation (PP600); Human Wastes and Refuse (XX300); Industrial Wastes and Effluents (XX400)