BIOACCUMULATION OF SOME HEAVY METALS IN TWO TYPE OF AQUATIC PLANT IN EUPHRATES RIVER IN THI- QAR PROVINCE, SOUTHERN OF IRAQ

Afaq T. Farhood*

ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted during and summer of 2016 to study the bioaccumulation of some heavy metalsin two type of aquatic plants (Ceratophyllum demersum, Phragmites australis ) and the use it as bioindicator to the accumulation of these elements through (water - aquatic plant) at two stations in Euphrates river in Thi- Qar province, Southern of Iraq. Three heavy elements (Cd, Cu, Pb) were used in this study. The elements were studied in the dissolved of water and aquatic plant (C. demersum, P. australis), the bioconcentration factor B C. F was calculated for the above studied elements in the aquatic plant tissue, which was as follows: (Cd (25000-16667), Cu (2857- 1786) and Pb (35417- 29167) once as concentrated in water respectively. The study concluded that the concentrations of the studied elements in the plants tissue are higher than in the water with dissolved phase, C. demersum accumulate all metals more than P.australis,. The abundance of elements is as follows: pb > Cu> Cd. This plant have a great ability to accumulate heavy elements and considered a good biological indicators for this type of pollutants.

Keywords: Heavy metals, Water, C. demersum, P.australis, biococentration.