# Native Plant Capacity for Gentle Remediation in Heavily Polluted Mines
## 3 Results
### Trace-Element Concentrations in Leaves and Roots  
The leaves of _D. viscosa_ registered the highest mean concentrations of all trace elements, except for Fe in _E. pithyusa_ growing in contaminated soils, which presented a slightly higher average than did _D. viscosa_ (Table 2). _C. salviifolius_ significantly differed in leaf concentrations of Pb, Mn, and Fe both in contaminated and in uncontaminated soils. The highest mean values were recorded in contaminated soils, except for Cu, which showed similar concentrations. The _D. viscosa_ individuals that grew in contaminated soils invariably had the highest leaf values but showed statistically significant differences only for Zn and Pb concentrations. _E. pithyusa_ significantly differed in the leaf concentrations of Zn, Cu, and Fe, but the mean values in leaf Cu and Fe proved higher in uncontaminated soils. Differences were found only in the concentrations of Zn and Pb in the roots of _D. viscosa_ between contaminated and uncontaminated soils, being higher in the former (Table 3). The Zn concentrations in the roots of _E. pithyusa_ in contaminated soils were also significantly higher. In the rest of the cases analyzed, no significant differences were found.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline  & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Total Soil Concentrations (ppm)**} \\ \hline  & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Zn**} & **Pb** & **Cu** & **Mn** & **Fe** \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**CC**} & 22982 \(\pm\) 9771.7a & 5985.0 \(\pm\) 1466.3a & 52.7 \(\pm\) 7.6a & 4911.3 \(\pm\) 1057.6a & 79097 \(\pm\) 11232a \\  & (7668-41154) & (4130.1-8879.6) & (43.4-67.9) & (2799.4-6088.5) & (57871-96080) \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**CN**} & 5147.5 \(\pm\) 699.8b & 2400.4 \(\pm\) 205.4b & 45.2 \(\pm\) 6.5a & 8109.4 \(\pm\) 1246.2b & 76469 \(\pm\) 14157a \\  & (4125.6-6486.7) & (2107.2-2796.2) & (32.3-53.0) & (6757.7-10599) & (60916-104736) \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**p-value**} & **0.049** & **0.049** & 0.827 & **0.049** & 0.827 \\  & 47219 \(\pm\) 5653.1a & 71585 \(\pm\) 327.8a & 291.0 \(\pm\) 31.6a & 4595.2 \(\pm\) 1501.5a & 260006 \(\pm\) 92516a \\  & (39601-58263) & (6540.3-7656.9) & (2277.7-322.9) & (1973-7173.7) & (136747-441147) \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**DN**} & 557 \(\pm\) 12.3b & 380.4 \(\pm\) 47.4b & 42.8 \(\pm\) 5.1b & 741.7 \(\pm\) 11.6b & 34272 \(\pm\) 1116.1b \\  & (536.3-578.8) & (320.8-474) & (35.7-52.7) & (718.8-756.8) & (32580-36379) \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**p-value**} & **0.049** & **0.049** & **0.049** & **0.049** & **0.049** \\  & 85701 \(\pm\) 11435a & 15135 \(\pm\) 3957.3a & 332.7 \(\pm\) 112.1a & 6970.8 \(\pm\) 1718.8a & 338155 \(\pm\) 156244a \\  & (71452-108318) & (8517.2-22203) & (198.7-555.3) & (3741.9-9606.8) & (171027-650385) \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**EN**} & 1539.4 \(\pm\) 673.7b & 235.6 \(\pm\) 66.5b & 39.6 \(\pm\) 5.1b & 3691.5 \(\pm\) 1714.6a & 40436 \(\pm\) 10092b \\  & (525-2814.6) & (153.5-367.4) & (29.6-46.6) & (1504.4-7072.5) & (25117-59477) \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**p-value**} & **0.049** & **0.049** & **0.049** & 0.126 & **0.049** \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Total trace-metal concentrations in contaminated and uncontaminated soils. The mean \(\pm\) SE values are shown together with minimum and maximum values in brackets. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was applied. Different letters indicate significant differences at a significance level < 0.05 within the same trace element and plant species. CC=contaminated soil under _C. salviifolius_. CN = uncontaminated soil under _C. salviifolius_. DC = contaminated soil under _D. viscosa_. DN = uncontaminated soil under _D. viscosa_. EC = contaminated soil under _E. pithyusa_. EN = uncontaminated soil under _E. pithyusa_.