Eur J Forest Res (2010) 129:47–59 DOI 10.1007/s10342-008-0253-3 123 ORIGINAL PAPER AVorestation of a trace-element polluted area in SW Spain: woody plant performance and trace element accumulation Maria Teresa Domínguez · Paula Madejón · Teodoro Marañón · José Manuel Murillo Received: 21 November 2007 / Revised: 9 April 2008 / Accepted: 17 July 2008 / Published online: 19 December 2008  Springer-Verlag 2008 Abstract Trace element soil pollution can have ecotoxic eVects on plants, which could negatively aVect the restora- tion of a degraded area. In this work, we studied the revege- tation success in diVerent sites within a trace element- polluted area (Guadiamar River Valley, SW Spain). We analysed the survival and growth patterns of aVorested plants of seven Mediterranean woody species, and their relation to soil pollution, over 3 years. We also analysed the trace element accumulation in the leaves of these species. The area was polluted mainly by As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn (soil total concentrations up to 250, 3.6, 236, 385 and 510 mg kg ¡1 , respectively). The woody plant performance was very diVerent between sites and between species; in the riparian sites, plant survival rates were nearly 100%, while in the upland terrace sites species such as Quercus ilex and Ceratonia siliqua showed the lowest survival rates (less than 30%) and also the lowest relative growth rates. There were no signiWcant relationships between plant perfor- mance and soil pollution in the riparian sites, while in the upland sites mortality, but not growth, was related to soil pollution, although that could be an indirect eVect of diVer- ent substrate alteration between sites. The accumulation of soil pollutants in the studied plants was low, with the exception of Salicaceae species, which accumulated Cd and Zn in the leaves above 1 and 200 mg kg ¡1 , respectively. We discuss the results with regard to the aVorestation of trace-element polluted areas. Keywords Soil remediation · Plant survival · Relative growth rates · Mediterranean woody species · Heavy metals Introduction Atmospheric and soil pollution are regarded as important factors contributing to forest decline (Hüttermann et al. 1999; Brydges et al. 2000; FAO 2005). Trace elements, an important group of soil pollutants, usually occur in (by deW- nition) very low concentrations in natural soils. However, diVerent human activities have altered their biogeochemical cycles and have increased the trace element levels in agri- cultural and forest soils during the last decades (Adriano 2001; Kabata-Pendias and Pendias 2001). In the forest systems, an increase in the soil trace ele- ment concentrations may have ecological consequences at diVerent levels. At the soil level, the structure and biologi- cal activity of microbial communities may be altered (Jen- tschke and Godbold 2004; Pennanen 2001) and the degree of mycorrhizal associations may decrease (Del Val et al. 1999; Hartley-Whitaker et al. 2000). Nutrient cycles and plant nutrition could be altered due to these eVects (Naidu et al. 2001). At the plant level, trace element eVects are diverse at metabolic, subcellular and cellular levels, which could adversely aVect plant performance (Prasad and Hage- meyer 1999). Particularly, root growth inhibition is one of the Wrst toxicity symptoms (Schulze et al. 2005), which may aVect seedling establishment. The revegetation of trace element-polluted areas is a diYcult task, because of the presence of many growth-lim- iting factors. Ecotoxic eVects of soil pollution can be an Communicated by A. Merino. This article belongs to the special issue “Plant-soil relationships in southern European forests”. M. T. Domínguez (&) · P. Madejón · T. Marañón · J. M. Murillo Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, P.O. Box 1052, 41080 Seville, Spain e-mail: maitedn@irnase.csic.es