Certain plant species can absorb heavy metals from soil and store them in their stems and leaves in quantities that would be toxic to normal plants. Because of this extraordinary property, these metal hyper-accumulating plants are being studied as a means to restore lands contaminated by mining activities. However, these restoration efforts would typically involve the introduction of plants species that are not native to the remediation site, which poses the potential for these species to become invasive or otherwise interrupt ecological relationships among native species. This project asks the innovative question: how would metal accumulating plants affect ecological interactions with other species when introduced as a non-native species. The study focuses on Thlaspi caerulescens, a metal hyper-accumulating plant species being sown on mine tailings in southwestern Colorado; it is a non-native introduced from southern France. The project will evaluate the likelihood that this plant would establish a dense population at the introduced site, examine whether it would reduce the fitness of native plant species through competition, and test whether native herbivores would feed on this non-native plant, potentially causing a bioaccumulation of the metals in the food web.
The broader impacts of this project are significant to restoration of metal contaminated lands. Results from this project will inform land managers of the potential risks of introducing metal-hyper-accumulating plants as a means of remediation of mining sites, and may identify preventive measures that can be used to minimize these risks. This project will support the thesis research of a doctorate student, and provide undergraduates with field research experiences.
