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Chemical,
biological and physiological indicators of
metal pollution in wetlands
O. O. Ayeni1, P. A. Ndakidemi2*,
R. G. Snyman3 and J. P. Odendaal1
1Department
of Environmental and Occupational Studies, Faculty of
Applied Science, Cape Peninsula University of Technology,
Cape Town Campus, Keizersgracht, P. O. Box 652, Cape Town
8000, South Africa.
2Department
of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Applied
Science, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town
Campus, Keizersgracht, P. O. Box 652, Cape Town 8000, South
Africa.
3Department of Biodiversity
and Conservation, Faculty of Applied Science,
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town Campus,
Keizersgracht, P. O. Box 652, Cape Town 8000, South Africa.
*Corresponding author.
E-mail:
ndakidemip@cput.ac.za.
Tel: +27214603196.
Fax: +27214603193.
Accepted 10 May, 2010 |
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Chemical, biological and physiological responses in
terrestrial and aquatic plants may be used as biomarkers to
monitor contamination in ecosystems. Some plant parameters
such as chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, transpiration,
metal uptake and metabolism may be used to determine the
level of toxic stress in plants. Similarly, the
concentrations of metals in soil may be used to establish
the levels of pollution. In this review, we present
challenge to researchers involved in environmental
assessment to use these simple techniques as a basis for
establishing guidelines on environmental pollution.
Key words:
Bioaccumulation, biomarkers, environment, metals.
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