A REVIEW OF MEASURED BIOACCUMULATION DATA IN TERRESTRIAL PLANTS FOR ORGANIC CHEMICALS: METRICS, VARIABILITY AND THE NEED FOR STANDARDIZED MEASUREMENT PROTOCOLS

Abstract

Quantifying the transfer of organic chemicals from the environment into terrestrial plants is essential for assessing human and ecological risks, using plants as environmental contamination biomonitors, and predicting phytoremediation effectiveness. Experimental data describing chemical uptake by plants are often expressed as ratios of chemical concentrations in the plant compartments of interest (e.g., leaves, shoots, roots, xylem sap) to that in the exposure medium (e.g., soil, soil pore water, hydroponic solution, air). These ratios are generally referred to as bioconcentration factors (BCFs) but have also been named for the specific plant compartment sampled, such as root concentration factors (RCFs), leaf concentration factors (LCFs), or transpiration stream (xylem sap) concentrations factors (TSCFs). We reviewed over 350 papers to develop a database with 7,049 entries of measured bioaccumulation data for 310 organic chemicals and 112 terrestrial plant species. Various experimental approaches have been used; therefore, inter-study comparisons and data quality evaluations are difficult. Key exposure and plant growth conditions were often missing, and units were often unclear or not reported. The lack of comparable high confidence data also limits model evaluation and development. Standard test protocols, or at a minimum, standard reporting guidelines, for the measurement of plant uptake data are recommended to generate comparable, high-quality data that will improve mechanistic understanding of organic chemical uptake by plants. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

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