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The characterization of prospective plants is one of the critical issues in the efficiency and success of the phytoremediation process. Due to adaption and tolerance to different environmental stresses, native plant species have priority in this method. This study examined fifty plants of five species, namely Launaea acanthodes, Artemisia sp., Cousinia congesta, Peganum harmala, and Stipa sp., growing near a smelter and refinery in Iran to identify potential species for phytoextraction and phytostabilization. Therefore, Pb, Ni, Mn, Mo, S, and Cu concentrations in sampled plants and soils were analyzed. Three different pollution indices, namely metal accumulation index (MAI), translocation factor (TF), and bioconcentration factor (BCF) were used for evaluating the metal concentrations in roots and shoots of each plant species. The results indicated that Artemisia sp., with values of 3.21, 1.09, and 1.14 for MAI, BCF, and TF, respectively, is appropriate for phytoextraction in the study area. Plants such as Launaea acanthodes and Cousinia congesta with high BCF and low TF values showed the potential for phytostabilization. Investigating the indices for different elements demonstrated that Launaea acanthodes had a BCF value greater than 1 and a TF value less than 1; therefore, this plant could be used in the phytoremediation of arsenic through the phytostabilization technique. Furthermore, copper has very low bioavailability in these plant species. In addition, these native plant species were highly capable of accumulating sulfur from the soil because the BCF and TF indices for all inspected species were higher than 1; for Launaea acanthodes, the relevant TF value was about 10. The proposed native plant could be applied in practical applications of phytoremediation for soil remediation of contaminated sites around the metal factories and mines in southeastern Iran.

Essential oils of three species of Artemisia genus (A. absinthium L., A. campestris L. and A. herba-alba (Asso)) were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and their potential insecticidal and repellent activities against the stored grain insect Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) was investigated. Fumigant and repellent activity bioassays were investigated in vitro. Chemical characterisation of essential oils showed that the bicyclic monoterpenes were predominant in all Artemisia essential oils, A. absinthium essential oil having the highest content of bicyclic monoterpenes, bicycloheptanes, naphthalenes and cycloalkenes. A. campestris had the highest content of sesquiterpenoids and acyclic monoterpenoids. A. herba-alba was characterised by the highest amounts of menthane monoterpenoids, oxanes, cumenes, oxolanes, ketones, benzenoids and monocyclic monoterpenes. Fumigant bioassay demonstrated that the three types of oil applied separately caused significant insect mortality. The lowest median lethal dose, LC50=142.8 μL/L, was observed with A. herba-alba. In repellency test, essential oil of A. absinthium was more potent with more rapid action than all other species. The mixture of Artemisia sp. essential oils showed an antagonistic effect in all the tested combinations. This study highlighted an important potential of Artemisia sp. especially A. herba-alba and A. absinthium in the control of the pests of stored products.

Esencijalna ulja triju vrsta roda Artemisia (A. absinthium L., A. campestris L. i A. herba-alba (Asso)) ispitana su spregnutom tehnikom plinske kromatografije i masene spektrometrije (GC-MS), te je utvrđen njihov mogući insekticidni i repelentni učinak na skladišnog štetnika žitarica Tribolium castaneum (Herbst). Provedeni su in vitro pokusi ispitivanja fumigacijskog i repelentnog učinka. Kemijska karakterizacija esencijalnih ulja pokazala je da u pelinovom ulju prevladavaju biciklični monoterpeni. Ulje pravog pelina (A. absinthium) sadržavalo je najviše bicikličnih monoterpena, bicikloheptana, naftalena i cikloalkena, a ono vrste A. campestris najviše seskviterpena i acikličnih monoterpena. Bijeli pelin (A. herba-alba) imao je najviše p-mentan tipa monoterpena, tetrahidropirana, kumena, tetrahidrofurana, ketona, benzenoidnih spojeva i monocikličnih monoterpena. Ispitivanje fumigacijskog učinka pokazalo je da su tri zasebno primijenjena ulja prouzročila veliki mortalitet štetnika. Najmanju srednju smrtnu dozu (LC50=142,8 μL/L) imalo je ulje bijelog pelina. Ulje vrste A. absinthium imalo je jači i brži repelentni učinak od ostalih vrsta. Mješavina esencijalnih ulja triju vrsta pelina imala je antagonistički učinak u svim ispitanim kombinacijama. Ovaj rad naglašava važnost moguće primjene esencijalnih ulja pelina, naročito vrsta A. herba-alba (bijelog pelina) i A. absinthium, na suzbijanje štetnika na uskladištenim proizvodima., Essential oils of three species of Artemisia genus (A. absinthium L., A. campestris L. and A. herba-alba (Asso)) were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and their potential insecticidal and repellent activities against the stored grain insect Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) was investigated. Fumigant and repellent activity bioassays were investigated in vitro. Chemical characterisation of essential oils showed that the bicyclic monoterpenes were predominant in all Artemisia essential oils, A. absinthium essential oil having the highest content of bicyclic monoterpenes, bicycloheptanes, naphthalenes and cycloalkenes. A. campestris had the highest content of sesquiterpenoids and acyclic monoterpenoids. A. herba-alba was characterised by the highest amounts of menthane monoterpenoids, oxanes, cumenes, oxolanes, ketones, benzenoids and monocyclic monoterpenes. Fumigant bioassay demonstrated that the three types of oil applied separately caused significant insect mortality. The lowest median lethal dose, LC50=142.8 μL/L, was observed with A. herba-alba. In repellency test, essential oil of A. absinthium was more potent with more rapid action than all other species. The mixture of Artemisia sp. essential oils showed an antagonistic effect in all the tested combinations. This study highlighted an important potential of Artemisia sp. especially A. herba-alba and A. absinthium in the control of the pests of stored products.

International audience; Infiltration basins are widely used in urban environments as a technique for managing and reducing the volume of stormwater. These basins can be spontaneously colonized by wild plants, which can be used as bioindicators of edaphic characteristics. As the basins are anthropogenic environments, the description of plant biodiversity allows the determination of which species colonize such environments and identification of the relationships between plants, basin type and operation. Nineteen infiltration basins were selected according to their catchment types (industrial, urban, agricultural). The dominant species were identified and sampled. Rumex sp., Taraxacum sp. and Artemisia sp. are the three types most represented (88, 61 and 55% respectively of the basins studied). Their families and their respective orders are those most commonly found (Caryophyllales, Asterales and Polygonaceae, Asteraceae). Poaceae is the family grouping with the largest number of different species (11). Although each species occupies only 1 or 2 basins, plants of this family occupy 61% of the basins. Although the catchment characteristics of the 19 basins do not play a direct role in the diversity of plant families, they can influence the presence or absence of certain species. Thus, these plants can be used as bio-indicators of basin soil and operating characteristics, such as sediment depths, inundation frequency and duration.