Arundo Donax - Ecology

Ecology

Giant reed is adapted to a wide variety of ecological conditions. It is distributed across the southern United States from Maryland to California. Grows spontaneously and abundantly from heavy clays to loose sands and gravelly soils, but prefers wet drained soils where it produces monotypic dense stands, very competitive with weeds. In soil contaminated with arsenic, cadmium and lead, giant reed was found to grow rapidly, showing a strong metal-tolerance with a limited metal translocation from roots to shoots. In this study it is underlined that accumulation of As, Cd and Pb in shoots of giant reed is low while metal concentration in roots is high, and the anatomical characteristics of stem tissues are thick and homogeneous according to SEM image. In Pakistan, where the detection of arsenic in ground waters has threatened the use of groundwater as major source of drinking water, a research highlighted the phytoremediation potential of A. donax when grown in hydroponics cultures containing arsenic concentrations up to 1000 µg l−1. Giant reed was able to translocate the metals absorbed into the shoot and to accumulate metals in the stalk and leaves above the root concentration without showing any toxic effects up to As concentration of 600 µg l−1. Furthermore, the plant is not consumed by herbivores, a positive trait in phytoremediation plants.