Phytoremediation of Lead Contaminated Soil Using Croton (Cordiaeumvariegatum) Plants

The lead contamination of the environment affects the life of organisms, as the quality of the environment influences and determines the quality of living things, both plants and animals. Therefore, remediations need to be taken so that the polluted land could be repurposed for various activities safely. Phytoremediation is a method that employs plants to move, detach, or stabilize pollutants in the form of eitherorganic or inorganic compounds. In this study, the Croton (Codiaeum varigatum) plant was used as a phytoremediator planted in pots. Three pots were observed: 500 mg of Pb (NO₃)₂ was added to the first (T1) pot, 750 mg (T2) of Pb (NO₃)₂ was added up to the second (T2) pot, and no addition to the third (T0) pot. The parameters analyzed included plant biomass, the Pb content in plants, bioaccumulation factors, translocation factors, metal tolerance index, and photosynthetic pigment content. The results showed that Pb affected all of the analyzed parameters. Pb causes a decrease in the plant biomass and a downturn in chlorophyll a and b. The Pb accumulation in root > stem > leaf. The BAF value <1, the TF value <1 and the MTI value ranged 89.73–82.80%.