Muazzez Çelik Karakaya 1 Necati Karakaya 1 S ¸uayip Küpeli 1 Mehmet Muzaffer Karada g 1 Mesut Kırmacı 2 1 Faculty of Engineering, Department of Geological Engineering, Konya Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey 2 Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey Research Article Potential Bioaccumulator Mosses around Massive Sulfide Deposits in the Vicinity of the Giresun Area, Northeast Turkey The study area located in the western part of the Eastern Pontides, NE Turkey, represents the eastern part of the metallogenic province of the Black Sea region. The soil, water, and some mosses from the area contain heavy metal pollution from the mines and tailings of the abandoned and partially active massive sulfide deposits and their host rocks. The surface/subsurface/underground ore bodies generally cause the acidification of groundwater and the enrichment of heavy and toxic trace metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Fe, As, and Pb) in the water, soil, and mosses. The mosses are Rhabdoweisia crispata, Pohlia nutans, and Pohlia elongata. R. crispata is a newly reported plant in Turkey, and the abovementioned moss species are observed especially where the toxic element contents of the water and soil are enriched. The mosses are sensitive to the trace metals and thus accumulate metal ions, predominantly Fe, Al, and Mn, which are apparent in the interaction between the water and roots. R. crispata is a better accumulator of trace metals and some major elements than the other mosses. R. crispata is therefore suitable for use in the recovery of polluted soil and water affected by acid mine wastewater from active and/or abandoned mining sites in the NE of Turkey. Keywords: Bioaccumulator; Giresun; Moss; Rhabdoweisia crispata; VMS deposits Received: November 28, 2012; revised: February 19, 2013; accepted: June 5, 2013 DOI: 10.1002/clen.201200651 1 Introduction Metallic ore deposits, mining operations, inactive mines, and wastes contaminate the surface environment, along with water and plants. As a result, elevated levels of heavy metals can be found in and around metallic ore deposits in nearby soils, plants, and stream systems. Eventually, these metals may pose a potential health risk to residents and animal life in the vicinity of mining areas. Many studies have been conducted on heavy metal contamination in soils, plants, and water from metalliferous mines throughout the world, e.g. M. C. Jung on Heavy Metal Contamination of Soils, Plants, Waters and Sediments in the Vicinity of Metalliferous Mines in Korea (unpub- lished, 1995) [1–6]. The ability of mosses to accumulate metals at levels much greater than they need is generally related to the absence of a cuticle in their tissues and to cation exchange sites on their cell walls. The presence of metal-accumulating plants has drawn the attention of plant researchers for many years. Plants growing on metal-loaded soils respond by the exclusion, indication, and accumulation of metals ([7] and reference therein). A number of plant species that are endemic to metalliferous soils accumulate metals to concentrations that are extraordinarily higher (>1%) than normal for plants ([7] and reference therein). Many plants can accumulate heavy metals through ion exchange and metal uptake. Metal concentrations in bioaccumulator plants vary from 10 to 500 ppm higher than found in normal floras and in different species living in the same area ([7] and reference therein). Therefore, bioaccumulators can be used to lower the concentrations of metals in soils and waters in land reclamation activities in polluted areas [8]. Plant species with metal concentrations higher than the background level and higher than in other species from the same area are defined as hyperaccumulators [9]. Hyperaccumulator plants have the potential to remediate soils polluted by heavy metals [10]. Therefore, it is essential to acquire further data about plants that exist on metal-polluted soils to define the potential for using hyperaccumulators in the management of contaminated soils and, predominantly, for the removal of metals. A bioaccumulator accumulate metals above certain concentrations e.g., Cd > 100 ppm; Co, Cu, Ni, and Pb > 1000 ppm and Mn, Zn >10 000 ppm [11]. Mining waste is dispersed by surface runoff during rainfall, wind action, and draining of effluents. Water and soils are substantially polluted by mining activities and/or the physical-chemical alteration of these deposits and wastes. This study was carried out to obtain data about the plants in a heavy-metal-contaminated location in the Black Sea region and to highlight metal accumulation by floras. This is the first study on the plants of the heavy-metal-enriched locations in the NE of Turkey and the concentration of trace metals in the plants. Information on the natural flora associated with toxic- metal-rich waters and soils is required to select appropriate types for Correspondence: Professor M. Çelik Karakaya, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Geological Engineering, Konya Selcuk University, 42039 Konya, Turkey E-mail: mzzclk@hotmail.com Abbreviations: AMD, acid mine drainage; CA, crustal average; ICP-OES, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry; REE, rare earth element; SEM, scanning electron microscopy; VMS, volcanogenic massive sulfide; WDS, wavelength energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy; WSA, world-soil average 27 © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.clean-journal.com Clean – Soil, Air, Water 2015, 43 (1), 27–37