Respostas de herbáceas aquáticas amazônicas ao petróleo cru de Urucu (Coari- AM)

Abstract

Regions with petroliferous activities, as Urucu and Amazonas River floodplains (varzea) are constantly under risk of accidents. However, the studies about the oil toxicity in aquatic plants focus mainly on brackish and salt marsh species. Studies about the effects of contamination in freshwater hábitats are scarce and, even scarcer are those dealing with Amazonian plant species. The varzeas have a large diversity of aquatic macrophytes which are responsible by most of the primary productivity and are used as hábitat for several animal species. The contamination of these plant species by oil spills could start a series of direct and indirect effects in the ecosystem, among them the impact over the associated fauna. The recovery of areas contaminated for pollutants demand the selection of methods that avoid endanger the predominant plant species. Many times chemical and physical methods for restoration are more harmful than the pollutant itself; therefore, the phytoremediation is an alternative that has shown promising results for environmental recovery. In order to use phytoremediation in Amazonian varzea it is necessary to establish the toxicity of the oil, especially in the critical phases as germination and vegetative propagation of the selected plant species. This study have assessed, in greenhouse, the effects of the Urucu crude oil on the vegetative propagation and development of the abundant native plant species E. polystachya and E. crassipes as a mean to contribute for damage estimates related to oil spill events, and as an attempt to find species able to act in the phytoremediation of contaminated aquatic and terrestrial environments. To accomplish these aims four experiments were performed, utilizing the two plant species and adding different volumes of oil in their media (soil or water). Both plants have shown high sensitivity to the oil. E. polystachya was particularly affected with high mortality levels even in treatments with lower dosages as 1.5 mL oil 2 L -1 soil. If these results may confirm in field experiments, the damage of oil spilling would be catastrophic, since this specie plays a key role for the carbon and nutrient budgets and cycles. The direct plantation of E. polystachya in contaminated soil have shown that the specie has potential to be used for phytoremediation of contaminated soils with up to 0,66 mL oil m -2 soil. These results will allow the development of field methods of remediation with low cost. As the plantation is made by means of the cut of adult plant stems, there is no need of production and supply of seedlings.