Project Accumulation of metallic contaminants in plants by foliar route

EC2CO and SMINGUE financing
ISTerre team involved : Geochemistry
Collaborations :
Image optique de la surface d’une feuille de laitue exposée à des retombées atmosphériques de plomb (a), cartographies des éléments obtenues par µXRF (c, d) et spectres µXRF ponctuels (b) (Uzu et al., ES&T 2010).

Although overall air emissions of particulate matter have decreased in European countries, concentrations can be very high locally (along highways, near industrial sites or mines). In high-growth areas (Asia, South America) or megacities in southern countries, these emissions remain high or even increase.

In this project, we are interested in the transfer of particles into cultivated plants. Unlike soil/plant transfer, foliar transfer of contaminants has been little studied and remains poorly understood. However, in many cases it is more important than the soil/plant transfer.

In this project, we wish to (1) further understand the foliar transfer mechanism and fate of accumulated particles, and (2) evaluate the toxicity related to plant ingestion. For the first point, we wish to use innovative microscopic techniques to probe and image the sheets in their thickness and under conditions that best preserve their integrity, to locate particles and metals and to determine their speciation. For the second point, we intend to evaluate the bioaccessibility of metals in plants.