Article

Vegetation is very important to stabilize and minimize the effects of pollution. Industrialized areas near the city of Huelva, southwest Spain, have both soil and atmospheric pollution. Contaminants move off-site following wind direction, spreading the contamination beyond its original centre. This study checks the possibility of using Nerium oleander L. to minimize the effects of soil and atmospheric pollution. Samples were collected along three transects running along the prevailing wind directions (NE, NW and SE), and a fourth against wind direction (SW); a control site (Bkg) was chosen for comparison. Leaves and roots, together with soil samples were collected and the concentration of Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn was determined. This species is useful to fix Fe and Pb from soil through roots. Leaf Cu, Fe and Mn concentration are directly correlated with those in roots. No correlation between metal content in soil and root and/or soil-and leaf were found except for Pb, for which there was a positive correlation between soil and root concentration; when the contamination level is high this species is able to reflect the environmental quality