Combination toxicology of metal-enriched soils:: physiological responses of a Zn- and Cd-resistant ecotype of Silene vulgaris on polymetallic soils

Plants of an ecotype of Silene vulgaris (Caryophyllaceae) originating from a Cd-Pb-Zn mine at Plombiere (Belgium) were grown on 15 polymetallic soils for a full life-cycle to investigate physiological responses which can help explain previously reported disorders in plants. The degree of regulation of the metal concentration in the young seedlings was a very reliable indicator of the subsequent plant performance. Uptake of Zn could be regulated up to 200 nmol water-soluble Zn g(-1) dry soil without surpassing 7 mu mol Zn g(-1) dry leaf tissue supporting the hypothesis of a high regulating potential of Zn-resistant ecotypes. As soon as a certain ecotype-specific threshold was surpassed the Zn concentration in all plant tissues strongly increased. The Cu concentration in roots and shoots had no threshold and showed the tendency to increase near linearly with the external Cu soil concentration. Similar behaviours were found for Cd, Mn and Pb. The metal concentration of seeds was the lowest of all plant parts: nevertheless it increased linearly with increasing concentration of Fe and Zn in the soil. From visible symptoms the degree of chlorosis was positively related with the concentration of Zn, but not with that of Cu, and interrelated with Fe availability. High cyanidin concentrations in leaves were not indicating a surplus of heavy metals, but deficiency in phosphorus and to a lesser degree in nitrogen. Phytochelatins (PCs) were only present in measurable amounts in leaves of plants grown on soils rich in Cu; but PCs amounts in the early vegetative phase could not be related to Vegetative and seed biomass at the reproductive stage. Therefore, it is concluded that PCs are a less reliable indicator of metal toxicity during a full life-cycle than the metal concentration of young seedlings. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.