Correlations in metal release profiles following sorption by Lemna minor

ABSTRACTFollowing the rapid uptake of contaminants in the first few hours of exposure, plants typically attempt to cope with the toxic burden by releasing part of the sorbed material back into the environment. The present study investigates the general trends in the release profiles of different metal(loid)s in the aquatic macrophyte Lemna minor and details the correlations that exist between the release of metal(loid) species. Water samples with distinct contamination profiles were taken from Nilufer River (Bursa, Turkey), Yenicaga Lake (Bolu, Turkey), and Beysehir Lake (Konya, Turkey) and used for release studies; 36 samples were tested in total. Accumulation and release profiles were monitored over five days for 11 metals and a metalloid (208Pb, 111Cd, 52Cr,53Cr,60Ni,63Cu,65Cu,75As,55Mn, 137Ba, 27Al, 57Fe, 66Zn,68Zn) and correlation, cluster and principal component analyses were employed to determine the factors that affect the release of these elements. Release profiles of the tested metal(loid)s were...