DETERMINACIÓN DE LOS NIVELES DE TOLERANCIA A HIDROCARBUROS Y POTENCIAL DE FITORREMEDIACIÓN DE CUATRO ESPECIES VEGETALES DEL SECTOR BAEZA-EL CHACO, ECUADOR

Abstract

In Ecuador, petroleum is the main source of income; the production and phases of oil industry can affect the environment, mainly through pollution from spills, being necessary to remediate this damage somehow. Phytoremediation is presented as a low cost alternative technology for cleaning contaminated soil, in this study we evaluate the levels of tolerance and phytoremediation potencial of Ludwigia peruviana, Mimosa polydactyla, Tessaria integrifolia and Verbena litoralis in soil contaminated whit petroleum (3 and 6% concentration), by comparing the change in the hydrocarbon content in such soil soils by gravimetric method. The study was carried out in a greenhouse implemented in community of San Luis, town El Chaco, Napo Province and in the laboratories of the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana-Quito. Transplanting wild plants was 14 days after soil contamination with different concentrations of petroleum. The experimental design included four replicates and six treatments for each species. It was found that the best result for phytoremediation were for Tessaria integrifolia and Verbena litoralis at low concentrations of oil (3%) and including fertilizer application.