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Heavy Metal Threats to Plants and Soil Life in Southern Africa: Present Knowledge and Consequences for Ecological Risk Assessment

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Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 249

Part of the book series: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology ((RECT,volume 249))

Abstract

In recent times there has been remarkable development in the field of soil ecotoxicology and risk assessment (RA) models. It is, however, debatable if these RA models are robust representatives for worldwide relevance. In order to investigate this, the current overview aims to address heavy metal threats to soil life in southern Africa by investigating present knowledge and consequences for RA using research in southern Africa as a case. To this end, the focus is on southern African soils, soil life and living conditions. To critically discuss these issues, we report on extensive research conducted in the southern African context and looked how comparable these findings are to RA models employed in the western world. This is done by providing an inventory of selected studies focused on the ecotoxicity of metals towards soil life. It is concluded that there is a dearth of information on southern African soil life, most of which are laboratory-based studies carried out by a handful of researchers. Future research incorporating the available information into a soil ecosystem assessment procedure is paramount. It is recommended that a starting point to tackle this might be the development of holistic sight-specific guidelines for ecological risk assessment at larger spatial scales (km2) which takes into cognizance landscapes, vegetation and faunal characteristics.

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Abbreviations

AM:

Arbuscular mycorrhiza

BAF:

Bioaccumulation factor

CEC:

Cation exchange capacity

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

ERA:

Ecological risk assessment

HM:

Heavy metal

ISO:

International Organization for Standardization

MTT:

3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide spectrophotometric test

NRR:

Neutral red spectrophotometric assay

NRRT:

Neutral red retention test

OECD:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PAH:

Poly aromatic hydrocarbons

RA:

Risk assessment

SA:

South Africa

SADC:

Southern African Development Community

SSD:

Species sensitivity distribution

SSV:

Soil screening value

TDF:

Tailing disposal facility

UNEP:

United Nations Environment Programme

USA:

United States

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and the Unit of Environmental Sciences of the North-West University. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the authors alone. The authors would also like to thank Oluwatosin Oladipo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Herman Eijsackers & Mark Maboeta

  2. Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Herman Eijsackers

  3. Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa

    Adriaan Reinecke & Sophié Reinecke

Authors
  1. Herman Eijsackers
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  2. Adriaan Reinecke
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  3. Sophié Reinecke
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  4. Mark Maboeta
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark Maboeta .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Pim de Voogt

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Eijsackers, H., Reinecke, A., Reinecke, S., Maboeta, M. (2019). Heavy Metal Threats to Plants and Soil Life in Southern Africa: Present Knowledge and Consequences for Ecological Risk Assessment. In: de Voogt, P. (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 249. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol 249. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/398_2019_23

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