Morfofisiologia de espécies arbóreas expostas ao cobre

Abstract

The contamination caused by heavy metals in the soil is a major ecological concern because of its potential harmful effects to the environmental quality and vitality of life, and also the high persistence in the environment. Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for plants, but in excess can cause damage to the morphophysiology of plants. Understanding the mechanisms used by plants to control the toxicity caused by this metal is very important for the development of phytoremediation programs. In this context, the objective of this research was to evaluate the morphological and physiological responses and tolerance of tree species exposed to different concentrations of copper in the soil. Two experiments were performed in order to characterize the effect of Cu on the morphophysiology and tolerance of plants. The first experiment used a completely randomized design (CRD) with three forest species Myroxylon peruiferum L. (Balm Oil), Hymenaea (Jatoba) and Peltophorum dubium (Canafístula) and five concentrations of copper (CuSO4.5H2O) 0, 50, 100 200 and 400 mg kg-¹ in pots containing soil as substrate, with four replications per treatment. The trial evaluated the growth parameters, chlorophyll, antioxidant enzyme activity, proline content, leaf gas exchange, copper content in tissues and soil and indexes. The excess Cu in soil did not affect the vegetative growth of the three species in the period evaluated. However, a reduction in the chlorophyll content was observed with the increasing of copper in the soil. The species presented enzymatic antioxidant defense system (SOD, APX, CAT, GPX) to control reactive oxygen species (ROS). Plants of M. peruiferum showed higher proline content in the leaf tissue compared to the other species. The excess Cu induced a decrease in the photosynthesis of the three species which can be attributed to biochemical limitation, and also a stomatal limitation in M. peruiferum. The three species accumulated Cu in the roots. M. peruiferum plants absorbed less Cu in their tissues, a characteristic of a Cu-exclusion plant. H. courbaril, P. dubium and M. peruiferum showed tolerance and are suitable for revegetation of soils contaminated with copper and phytoremediation programs such as phytostabilization. The second experiment used a randomized block design (RBD) with five copper concentrations (CuSO4.5H2O) 0, 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg kg-¹ and four replications. Jatobá - Hymenaea L. was the tree species used and the trial evaluated growth parameters, gas exchange, root morphology, Cu content in the tissues and indexes. Cu content up to 200 mg kg-¹ favored growth, gas exchange and root morphology of H. courbaril plants. The excess Cu in the soil affected the vegetative growth and caused decline in the photosynthetic rate due to biochemical limitation. At concentration of 800 mg kg-¹ copper caused changes in the photosynthetic responses, showing decreased maximum net photosynthetic rate (Amax), respiration rate in the dark (Rd), light compensation point (LCP), light saturation point (LSP ) and apparent quantum yield (α). Exposure to excessive Cu also caused inhibition of root system. The Cu was accumulated in the roots as a mechanism of tolerance. The H. courbaril plants showed tolerance to excess Cu in the soil and is suitable for recovery of areas contaminated with this metal.