The Potential of Lemna minor to Uptake Iron in Water

Heavy metal, even necessary element (e.g. iron) may pose risks to human being and environment. This laboratory study investigated the potential of duckweed Lemna minor to uptake iron from solutions. The levels of iron in duckweed did not increase with the concentrations of iron in solutions. The amounts of iron in plants also did not enhance with the culture time. The results indicated that the capability of duckweed to uptake iron was limited as iron was easy to be precipitated and form metal plaque. The use of chelators to increase the bioavailability of iron is necessary to enhance the phytoremediation efficiency.