Environment & Ecosystem Science (EES) 5(1) (2021) 58-63 Quick Response Code Access this article online Website: www. environecosystem.com DOI: 10.26480/ees.01.2021.58.63 Cite the Article: Syeda Fatima, Nazia Aslam, Sofia Khalid (2021). Effects of Copper Toxicity on Different Growth Attributes of Phlox Drummondii. Environment & Ecosystem Science, 5(1): 58-63. ISSN: 2521-0882 (Print) ISSN: 2521-0483 (Online) CODEN: EESND2 RESEARCH ARTICLE Environment & Ecosystem Science (EES) DOI: http://doi.org/10.26480/ees.01.2021.58.63 EFFECTS OF COPPER TOXICITY ON DIFFERENT GROWTH ATTRIBUTES OF PHLOX DRUMMONDII Syeda Fatima, Nazia Aslam, Sofia Khalid Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Mall Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. *Corresponding Author Email: fatimaasyed90@gmail.com This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ARTICLE DETAILS ABSTRACT Article History: Received 18 March 2021 Accepted 23 April 2021 Available online 21 May 2021 Heavy metal contamination is one of the major problems prevailing in environment. Copper in high concentration is considered to have serious effects on plant growth parameters which results in chlorosis, disturbed mineral uptake and stunted growth. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the ability of Phlox drummondii to tolerate and accumulate high copper doses. Plants were exposed to copper toxicity at three different concentrations (10 ppm, 20 ppm and 30 ppm) by using copper sulfate (CuSO4.5H2O). Results showed that chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids of treated plants decreased significantly (p˂0.05) with the increase of copper concentration. Selected copper levels showed no effect on plant height, number of leaves, leaf area and ascorbic acid (p>0.05). Relative water content increased significantly (p˂0.05) as compared to control plants. Copper uptake by roots of treated plants was greater as compared to control plants indicating Phlox drummondii ability to grow well in the copper contaminated soils and could be classified as copper tolerant plant. Copper tolerance by phlox was associated with its capacity to absorb and accumulate in roots preventing translocation of metal to other photosynthetic tissues. Therefore, Phlox drummondii has the characteristic to be used as hyperaccumulator by vegetating in copper contaminated soils. Further studies at genetic level would play a key role in understanding the tolerance mechanism of Phlox drummondii towards copper contamination. KEYWORDS Phlox drummondii, Copper, Ascorbic acid, Toxicity, Bioremediation. 1. INTRODUCTION Contamination of soil due to heavy metals and other pollutants is a major threat for agricultural and environmental quality of developed and developing countries. According to a European study high levels of copper, lead and mercury have been found in 15-21cm of farming soils (Toth et al., 2016). Increasing metal accumulation in soils for growing crops not only affect crop yield but also cause detrimental health hazards. Soil and plants are contaminated with copper and other metals as a result of pesticides, fungicides, industrial effluents, mining, burning, transport, power generation and improper disposal of organic wastes in water or on land (Grytsyuk et al., 2006; Miotto et al., 2014; Pietrini et al., 2019). Metals are considered problematic due to their non-degrading nature as they require physical or chemical removal from polluted water and soil (Chaignon and Hinsinger, 2003). Copper is an essential micronutrient of plants as it is involved in plant metabolism (Li et al, 2004). But higher plants largely take up copper in Cu + 2 and Cu + forms via roots whereas some plant absorbs copper by leaves and shoots thus becoming a major threat for human health and ecosystem (Mattioni et al., 1997; Oteef et al., 2015). Copper along with other heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc and lead are the main elements present in field soils of major foods, fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants of industrial-polluted developed and developing countries (Oteef et al., 2015). In recent researches exposure of metal toxicity is studied for various heavy metals in soil and water but very few have mentioned the adverse effects of copper regarding growth and production in overall plants (crops and ornamental plants) (Qureshi et al., 2016). Ornamental plants are mainly known for their aesthetic qualities and are becoming rapidly growing trade with economic potential (Anderson et al., 2010; De, 2017). They provide shadow and purify wind. Ornamental plants have phytoremediation potential along with beautifying the environment and this property makes them quite unique from other hyper-accumulators (Shibata, 2008). As ornamental plants are grown on numerous sites, they share varying degrees of man-made stresses such as pollution, compaction, water loss and others (Davidson and Miller, 1990). In urban areas ornamental plants are continuously exposed to heavy metals’ pollution. They are more exposed to copper pollution particularly along road side due to significant increase in vehicular traffic, pesticides, soil and water pollution. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of different doses of copper on Phlox drummondii plant growth and its ability to absorb and tolerate metal contamination.