Heavy Metal Removal Capacity of Dominant Species in Wetland Plant Community—A Case Study of East Dongting Lake in China
Abstract
Wetlands, as one of the ecosystems with the richest biodiversity globally, play an irreplaceable role in maintaining ecological balance and biodiversity conservation. However, the East Dongting Lake wetland in China faces severe soil heavy metal pollution due to long-term human activities (such as industrial emissions and agricultural non-point source pollution) and natural processes. Contaminants such as arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) have accumulated over time, posing threats to the wetland's ecological security. This study targeted three typical plant communities in the East Dongting Lake wetland—Miscanthus sacchariflorus community, Carex community, and Persicaria community. Through field sampling, laboratory analysis, and Detrended Canonical Correspondence Analysis (DCA), it systematically evaluated the bioconcentration factor (BCF) of plant communities for heavy metals and their response to soil physicochemical properties. The research objectives included: a) identifying the characteristics of soil heavy metal pollution; b) quantifying the BCF of different plant communities; c) analyzing the correlation between biodiversity and heavy metal contents.