Abstract

Mangrove forests are of special interest because of their metal accumulation potenials as they occur in environments characterized by an excess of toxic ions. In this current study, we investigated the accumulation capacity of (Avicennia marina), a dominant mangrove plant inhabiting Tarut Bay in Eastern Saudi Arabia. Samples comprising mangroves, water and soil from 10 locations of Tarut Bay were analyzed for 8 heavy metals including Boron, Iron, Manganese, Zink, Lead, Nickel, Cadimum and Cupper. In water samples, B (5.5 PPM) was the highest while Cd was absent, also soil samples contained higher B (27.2 PPM), while Cd was lacking in these samples too. Overall, the concentrations of heavy metals were higher in plant shoot as compared to water and soil samples. In plant shoot Cu level was highest (107.22 PPM), while Cd was the lowest in. Our results demonstrate that grey mangrove absorb and accumulate higher quantities of heavy metals and thus play a vital role via cleansing the coastal environment from such harmful heavy metals. Our findings asserted that grey mangrove is a promising candidate for the purpose of Phytostabilization of industrially polluted coastal shores.

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