research article effect of mining activities in biotic...

Research ArticleEffect of Mining Activities in Biotic Communities ofVilla de la Paz San Luis Potosi Mexico

Guillermo Espinosa-Reyes1 Donaji J Gonzaacutelez-Mille1

Ceacutesar A Ilizaliturri-Hernaacutendez1 Jesuacutes Mejiacutea-Saavedra1 V Gabriela Cilia-Loacutepez1

Rogelio Costilla-Salazar2 and Fernando Diacuteaz-Barriga1

1 CIACYT-Facultad de Medicina Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosı Avenida Sierra Leona No 550Lomas 2da Seccion 78210 Mexico SLP Mexico

2 Life Sciences Division Universidad de Guanajuato Campus Irapuato-SalamancaCarretera Salamanca-Valle de Santiago Km 35 + 18 Palo Blanco 36885 Salamanca GTO Mexico

Correspondence should be addressed to Donaji J Gonzalez-Mille donajigonzalezuaslpmx

Received 20 October 2013 Revised 12 December 2013 Accepted 16 December 2013 Published 30 January 2014

Academic Editor Fernando Barbosa Jr

Copyright copy 2014 Guillermo Espinosa-Reyes et al This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work isproperly cited

Mining is one of the most important industrial activities worldwide During its different stages numerous impacts are generated tothe environmentThe activities in the region have generated a great amount of mining residues which have caused severe pollutionand health effects in both human population and biotic components The aim of this paper was to assess the impact of miningactivities on biotic communities within the district of Villa de la Paz The results showed that the concentrations of As and Pb insoil were higher than the national regulations for urban or agricultural areasThe bioavailability of these metals was certified by thepresence of them in the roots of species of plants and in kidneys and livers of wild rodents In regard to the community analysisthe sites that were located close to the mining district of Villa de la Paz registered a lower biological diversity in both plants andwild rodents aside from showing a change in the species composition of plant communities The results of this study are evidenceof the impact of mining on biotic communities and the need to take into account the wildlife in the assessment of contaminatedsites

1 Introduction

Mining is one of the most important industrial activitiesworldwide It is estimated that there are at least 10000miningindustries and more than 20000 mining sites mineral pro-cessing plants and smelting [1] Nevertheless it is consideredto be a productive activity with a high environmental impactbecause in its different stages (exploration extraction andprocessing) it generates numerous adverse effects as well asa great amount of residues which could cause water soiland sediment pollution [2 3] The generation of residues(tailing dams deposits and slag) is one of the most notoriousenvironmental impacts in the mining activity for they areconsidered to be the source of heavymetals such as cadmium(Cd) chromium (Cr) copper (Cu) lead (Pb) zinc (Zn) and

metalloids such as arsenic (As) [4] This pollution sourcerepresents in a major or minor way a risk for both humanpopulation (health) and for biota (ecological) living in thestudy site [5 6]

Mining brings as a consequence diverse types of impactthat could affect the composition and structure of the bioticcommunities (richness abundance diversity dominancetrophic relationships etc) among the most evident impactswe can find (1) elimination of vegetation which alters theavailability of food and shelter for wild animals and (2) thetoxic effects in the health of organisms derived from thepresence of heavy metals [7ndash10]

In Mexico around 503683661154 tons per year ofmetals such as silver (Ag) gold (Au) Cu Cd lead and Zn

Hindawi Publishing CorporationBioMed Research InternationalVolume 2014 Article ID 165046 13 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552014165046

2 BioMed Research International

are extracted which represents 13 of the gross domesticproduct showing that mining is an important economicactivity in our country [11]

The mining district of Santa Marıa de la Paz is locatedbetween the municipalities of Villa de la Paz and Matehualain the state of San Luis Potosı A skarn deposit of Pb-Zn-Ag (Cu-Au) (metamorphic rocks made of silicates ofcalcium (Ca) iron (Fe) andmagnesium (Mg) derived from aprotolith limestone and dolomite in which great quantities ofaluminum (Al) Fe and Mg have been introduced) is foundin this district

The main activity in Villa de la Paz is the extraction offluorite Zn Ag Cu Pb bentonite Au clay silica limestoneand salt For the past few years 2007ndash2012 24666536 tonof Au Ag Cd Cu Pb Zn has been extracted [11] Thisactivity has been taking place for the past 200 years and ithas generated a great amount of waste (tailings and deposits)which lies in open air and is exposed to environmentalweathering it represents a risk of environmental pollution

Several studies have been done in that mining regionto determine whether risk to human health and diversebiological components exists Among the studies that havebeen done there are those regarding environmental charac-terization [12ndash17] in some of these it has been proven thatrisk for the health of human populations in the area due tothe exposure to heavy metals and As exists [18ndash24] On theother hand studies regarding exposure and effects on diversespecies of flora and fauna have also been done [25ndash27]

Heavy metal accumulation in plants has multiple directand indirect effects on plant growth and alters many phys-iological functions by forming complexes with O N and Sligands They interfere with membrane functioning waterrelations protein metabolism and seed germination [28]Impediment of proper absorption and essential elementtransport in plants metabolic alterations decrease and inhi-bition of adequate growth reproductive alterations wiltingchlorosis dehydration mortality and photosynthesis inhibi-tion are among the main reported effects on plants due toheavy metal exposure [29ndash31]

Regarding the effects of mining activities on plant com-munities the presence of different concentration levels ofmetals such as Cd Cu Se and Zn in soil and water has beenreported and is known to reduce the diversity and abundancein plant communities [32 33]

The study of diversity and abundance among species hasbeen commonly used as an indicator of biotic integrity indifferent types of ecosystems [34 35] Some studies have usedthe diversity and structure of communities (plants andoranimals) to demonstrate the effect of exposure to a certainpollutant such as pest-control substances metals herbicideschemical wastes residual water discharge to name a few[32 36ndash41]

The study done on wild rodents and small mammals inpolluted sites has been focused on evaluating the bioaccumu-lation and sublethal effects (DNA damage oxidative stressetc) [25 42ndash50] These kinds of projects are important butare generally not very ecologically relevant In what concernsstudies in superior levels of biological organization in RusiaKataev et al [51] registered that the population densities of

rodents that are found close towhere themining activity takesplace are lower in comparison to the ones found farther away

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impactof the mining activity on biotic communities in the miningdistrict of Villa de la Paz In order to do this the determinationof the heavymetals andAswas done in soil and roots of plantsas well as the estimation of parameters in the communities ofplants and rodents

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Site Themining district of SantaMaria de la Paz islocated on 23∘411015840 longitude N and 100∘381015840 latitude WWithinthis district we can find Villa de la Paz which has beenexploited for over 200 years The predominant weather inthe region is mild semidry with rains in the summer [52]The average annual temperature is between 12∘ and 18∘Cthe total annual precipitation varies from 400 to 600mm[53] Haplic and calcic xerosols are the dominant soils whichare the typical types of soil in semiarid regions [53] Themain types of vegetation are the xerophytic scrubland and thegypsophyllous grassland [54] The main economic activitiesin the region are mining agricultural production livestockproduction and tourism [53 55]

22 Selection of Sampling Sites The main types of dominantvegetation selected within the area of study were the micro-phyllous desert scrub (MDS) and the rosettophyllous desertscrub (RDS) a sampling site was chosen within in each ofthese considering the areas with the highest arsenic andmetal concentrations [15 25] Aside of this two sites withina reference zone were selected (with similar exposure relieflithology altitude and condition) tomake a comparison withthe polluted zone This zone is located approximately 10 kmsouth of the impacted zone (Figure 1)

Plant root and soil samplings took place in each of theselected sites during the months of May and June of 2004

23 Environmental Monitoring The quantification of As CuPb and Zn was done in plant species in order to measurethe concentrations to which they were exposed Fifty samplesfrom the superficial soil were obtained (0 to 10 cmof depth) ineach of the sampling sites to obtain a total of 60 soil samplesThe samples were collected using the same transects that wereused for the plant sampling (see under) five points wereestablished every 5mwithin the sampling areas starting fromthe origin of the line (0m) and up to 20m [56] In each of thepoints 10 cm3 blocks of soil were extracted using a shovel andwere put in polyethylene bags so they could be transportedand analyzed elsewhere

24Monitoring of Plant Species Theplant samplingwas donethrough the point quadrats method [57] and three transectswere traced perpendicularly to the slope in each of the sites(in a southeast-northeast direction with an average lengthof 20m) in order to obtain the frequency the basal areathe density and the value of importance of the plant species[58 59]

BioMed Research International 3

MDS

Matehuala

MDS

Villa de la Paz

El HerreroLas Palmas

H El Fraile

H Calabacillas

RDS

Sierra de Catorce

N

RDS

asymp 10km

Figure 1 Location of the sampling sites in the mining region of Villa de la Paz San Luis Potosi Mexico Contaminated sites (gray circles)reference sites (black circles) RDS rosettophyllous desert scrub MDS microphyllous desert scrub

In order to verify if absorption was happening in theroots the quantification of As Cu Pb and Zn had to bedone For this process individuals were selected from thefour dominant species of plants of each type of vegetationpresent in both the contaminated and the reference siteThe selected species in the RDS were Jatropha dioica (Jadi)Karwinskia mollis (Kamo) Agave lechuguilla (Agle) andDyssodia acerosa (Dyac) The ones on the MDS were J dioica(Jadi) Larrea tridentata (Latr) Parthenium incanum (Pain)and Zinnia acerosa (Ziac) Five individuals of each of thesespecies were collected except for D acerosa for which 10individuals had to be taken so a composite sample could bedone because its roots are very small All the collected plantswere fully extracted the aerial part (foliage) was eliminatedand the roots were collected in polyethylene bags for easiertransportation for analysis

25 Rodent Monitoring Rodents were captured alive usingSherman traps only in the MDS The capture was donetwo nights in a row with two repetitions per plot of landin six different outings which totaled 960 night-traps Allsix outings for the capture and recapture of rodents weredone during the period between September 2005 and May2007 During the period of study the existing assumptionsestablished by Seber [60] where complied with for the studyof open populations as well as getting to know the biologyof all the species of rodents within the area of study [59]A mixture of oats and vanilla was used as bait The species

of the captured rodents were determined as well as differentmorphometric parameters such as total length of the tailthe body the back legs and the ear Their sex was recordedand all individuals captured were marked [61 62] For thecollection of plants and the capture of rodents we have thescientific collector permit FAUT-262 issued by Secretarıa deMedio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT)

26 Parameter Estimates at a Community Level The Shan-non-Wiener index (1198671015840) was used to determine the diversityof both plant and rodent species present on the sites 1198671015840 =minussum119904

119894=1

(119873119894119873) ln(119873119894119873) [58 63]As for plant communities all evaluated attributes were

determined according to the vegetative stratus and for thetotal vegetation

27 Analysis of As and Metals in Soil and Roots The soilsamples of roots and soil were put through a process of aciddigestion for the quantification of As Cu Pb and Zn Thedigestion of the soil was done in a microwave oven (CEMMDS-2000) using nitric acid (HNO

3) and for the roots the

digestion had to be done using a heating platewithHNO3and

perchloric acid (HClO4)

The quantification of heavy metals was done usingspectrophotometry of atomic absorption (EAA) StandardReference Materials (SRM) which were certified by theNational Institute for Standards and Tests of the United Statesof America (NIST) were analyzed as a strategy for quality


Table 1 Concentrations (mgkg) of As Cu Pb and Zn in soil by vegetation type

Vegetation types Site As Cu Pb Zn

RDSReference 468 163 168 577

(120ndash230) (100ndash200) (238ndash976) (450ndash1250)

Contaminated 2221lowast 2319lowast 2043lowast 1754lowast


MDSReference 23 256 235 873



(5020ndash173250) (2925ndash10800) (4281ndash22268) (5050ndash63250)NOM-147-SEMARNATSSA1-2004 agriculturalresidential land 22 mdash 400 mdash

CEQG agricultural land 12 63 70 200The values represent the mean and range RDS rosettophyllous desert scrub MDS microphyllous desert scrub lowastStatistically different concentrations (119875 lt005) in relation to the reference site mdash not mentioned

control The employed SRM were the SRM 2710 for traceanalysis in soils and SRM 1547 for plants The percentage ofrecovery for both ranged from 80 to 104

28 Statistical Analysis A Chi Square test using a contin-gency chart of 2 times 2 had to be done in order to evaluate thedifferences in the composition of flora on the sites [64] Atwo-sample 119905-test was used in order to compare the diversity(Shannon-Wiener index) [65 66] For the comparison ofmetal concentrations the Kruskal-Wallis test in soil andthe Mann-Whitney 119880 test in plants were used The level ofstatistical significance was considered at 119875 lt 005 for all testsStatistical analysis was performedwith STATISTICA (version120 StatSoft Inc) Diversity-abundance models were donein order to extract patterns of relative species abundanceswithout reducing information and to make a comparisonbetween reference and contaminated sites [66]

3 Results and Discussion

31 Metals and As in Soil In Table 1 the concentrations ofthe quantified metals in the superficial soil samples classifiedaccording to the type of vegetation are shown For both typesof vegetation a statistically significant difference was found(119875 lt 005) between the concentrations of the contaminatedand reference site In the case of RDS As turned out to befive times higher Cu 14 times Pb 12 times and Zn threetimes more than in the reference siteThe decreasing order ofconcentration found in the contaminated site was Cu gt As gtPb gt Zn compared to the reference site which was Zn gt As gtPb gt Cu For the MDS it was found that As was 344 timeshigher Cu 27 times Pb 52 times and Zn 40 times more thanthe value from the reference site The order of concentrationon the contaminated site was As gt Zn gt Pb gt Cu and for thereference site it was Zn gt Cu gt Pb gt As

In Table 1 the concentrations of As and Pb which surpassthe maximum limits allowed according to the NOM-147-SEMARNAT-2004 are shown Thresholds for Cu and Zndo not exist in Mexican regulations which is the easywhy the parameter established by the Canadian guides forenvironmental protection and human health had to be used

as comparison it was found that Cu exceeds the protectionlimits in both types of vegetation while Zn was found to haveexceeded the protection limits only in theMDS contaminatedsite [67]This information concurs with reported results fromother authors

The registered differences in the concentrations of metalsin soil among the contaminated and the reference sitesconfirm the impact of mining activity reported by Razo etal [15] In the contaminated sites higher concentrations werefound in the MDS than in the RDS these differences can beattributed to the topographic location of the sites The RDSsite is found on the slope of the hill ldquoEl Frailerdquowhich favors themovement of metals and As to lower areas due to run offTheMDS site is found in the valley which probably explains whya higher concentration was reported These results coincidewith what was registered by Razo et al [15] who reportedlower concentrations in the hillside areas (As 731mgkg Cu206mgkg Pb 433mgkg and Zn 2351mgkg) compared tothe ones in the valley (As 10459mgkg Cu 1023mgkg Pb1560mgkg and Zn 5205mgkg)

Regarding the concentrations that were registered in thereference area these were found to be within the range ofwhat some authors registered as being basal (As 1ndash40mgkgCu 1ndash140mgkg Pb 10ndash70mgkg and Zn 5ndash125mgkg) [3268 69]

32 Metals and As in Roots The quantification of the contentof metals in the roots of plants was done for the purposeof determining if they could be absorbed by plants Theconcentrations of As Cu Pb andZn found in the roots of theselected species according to their vegetation type are shownin Table 2 In the RDS no differences were found betweenthe contaminated and the reference site for any metal in theK mollis specie (119875 gt 005) however for the A lechuguillaand J dioica species differences were found (119875 lt 005) (withthe exception of Zn in A lechuguilla and Pb in J dioica) Inthe MDS a statistically significant difference was found (119875 lt005) between the concentrations of the four species from thecontaminated and reference sites (with the exception of Zn enJ dioica) Znwas the element that was absorbed in the highestamounts (with the exception of J dioica where it was Pb)


Table 2 Concentrations (mgkg) of As Cu Pb and Zn in roots by species and vegetation type

Vegetation types Site Specie As Cu Pb Zn

RDS

Reference

Kamo 16 20 03 93(14ndash19) (15ndash28) (02ndash04) (50ndash141)

Agle 05 28 05 89(01ndash10) (23ndash35) (04ndash06) (58ndash130)

Jadi 07 32 05 112(02ndash11) (25ndash48) (02ndash10) (75ndash148)

Dyac 07 100 223 10

Contaminated


Agle 11lowast 45lowast 17lowast 84(08ndash16) (33ndash61) (07ndash36) (64ndash130)

Jadi 26lowast 73lowast 09 378lowast

(11ndash47) (30ndash105) (03ndash20) (135ndash520)Dyac 11 113 160 21

MDS

Reference

Latr 03 60 03 125(01ndash07) (39ndash74) (02ndash05) (89ndash205)

Pain 03 33 06 140(02ndash05) (25ndash36) (04ndash07) (108ndash175)


Ziac 16 28 45 67(08ndash23) (15ndash75) (28ndash56) (53ndash85)

Contaminated

Latr 43lowast 106lowast 13lowast 385lowast


Pain 51lowast 140lowast 22lowast 231lowast


Jadi 220lowast 134lowast 23lowast 54(19ndash439) (85ndash205) (14ndash32) (50ndash63)

Ziac 152lowast 120lowast 3655lowast 17lowast

(13ndash321) (83ndash205) (08ndash26) (3075ndash4225)The values represent the mean and range RDS rosettophyllous desert scrub MDS microphyllous desert scrub The range is not shown for the D acerosabecause there was only one analyzed compound sample lowast119875 lt 005 with regard to the reference site for the same species and vegetation type Kamo KmollisAgle A lechuguilla Jadi J dioica Dyac D acerosa Latr L tridentata Pain P incanum and Ziac Z acerosa

According to these results it can be stated that metalsand As present in the area are available for the plant specieshowever not all plants have the same method for absorptionandor translocation It has been observed that plants developdifferent resistance mechanisms when exposed to high metalconcentrations which makes them absorb metals in a dif-ferential way [70ndash72] In this regard Machado-Estrada et al[27] did the evaluation of the translocation of metals and Asin plant species (A lechuguilla P incanum and Z acerosa)of the same sites that we evaluated in Villa de la Paz andthe reference area They state that there is more translocationtowards stems and leafs in recollected plants in the pollutedsites which shows the bioavailability of the metals in thesespecies of plants

Added to this the absorption of metals in plants dependsmainly on bioavailability of metals and on the intrinsic char-acteristics of each species Several authors have reported thatbioavailability of metals depends on factors such as condition

of soil pH and the chemical form [73ndash75] According tothem the differences in the absorption by the plants ofthe region can be attributed to the possible developmentof resistance mechanisms towards metals (eg evasion) andto the presence of the different chemical forms of metalsgenerated in the mining processes that have been reportedin the area by Razo et al [15]

33 Metals and As in Rodents Jasso-Pineda et al [25] eval-uated the concentrations of As Cd and Pb in livers andkidneys of the rodents that were captured in the miningdistrict of Villa de la Paz and in a reference site Ourstudy was done jointly (sampling sites and seasons) with thepreviously mentioned study On that basis the concentrationsof metals in the tissues of rodents registered in the articleby Jasso-Pineda et al [25] can be directly compared to theconcentrations of metals in soil and the roots of plants Thelevels of registered metals in all cases were significantly


Table 3 Richness total diversity and by stratus for the RDS and the MDS

Vegetation types Contaminated ReferenceRichness Diversity Richness Diversity

RDSHerbaceous 10 075 10 061

Bushy 10 071lowast 9 051Total 20 103 19 082

MDS

Herbaceous 8 06lowast 17 104Bushy 5 055lowast 15 098

Subarboreal 2 005lowast 1 0Total 13lowast 088lowast 32 128

lowast

119875 lt 005

higher in the contaminated site compared to the referencesite

34 Plant Communities As it is shown in Table 3 the rich-ness of the species was similar between the contaminated andreference sites of the RDS (20 and 19 species resp) (119875 gt 005)unlike the MDS in which the reference site showed a majorrichness (32 species) than the contaminated site (13 species)(119875 lt 005)

Regarding the total diversity of the RDS (Table 3) astatistically significant difference was registered (119875 lt 005)between the contaminated and the reference site There wasalso a significant difference for the bushy stratus (119875 lt 005)but not for the herbaceous one (119875 gt 005)

Aside from this it was determined that the contaminatedsite has a higher diversity than the reference site (Table 3)which is given by the highest abundance of individuals inthe bushy stratus The total diversity of the MDS as wellas the stratus (Table 3) of the contaminated site was higher(119875 lt 005) than the ones from the reference site

The elements of diversity are richness and equity ofspecies In the case of RDS in both sites the richness wasthe same (Table 3) likewise the relative abundance (numberof individuals per species) was similar in both communitiesjust not with the same species (Figure 2) which explains whycommunities do not show differences in the value of thediversity index In the contaminated site a larger diversityof species was found in the bushy stratus (Table 3) becausethe species present in this site had a greater abundance ofindividuals (Figure 2) This difference among the diversityof individuals could be attributed to the change in speciesbecause this new species could have lower environmentalrequirements andor less competition in comparisonwith theones that were not registered which allows them to have agreater number of individuals [66]

In the case of MDS the way communities responded tometals was by reducing the diversity of species (Table 3)which could be caused by a difference in sensibility towardspollutants among the plants species that are present this waymore sensitive species are replaced with tolerant species orare eliminated completely (Figure 3) [66 76]

In the RDS regarding the composition of species in thesites it was found that the contaminated and the referencesites share 9 species 11 species are only present in the

contaminated site and 10 only registered in the reference siteA statistically significant difference was found (119875 lt 005)among the sites (Table 4)

In the case of MDS 11 species were registered and theywere present in both sites 3 species were registered only onthe contaminated site and 21 of them only on the referencesite The difference regarding composition in both sitesturned out to be statistically significant (119875 lt 005) (Table 4)

The diversity-abundance models of the RDS are shownin Figure 2 where similarities in the behavior between thecontaminated and the reference site can be seenmeaning thatboth sites had the same amount of both abundant species andnot very abundant ones In the case of MDS (Figure 3) it canbe observed that the contaminated site behaves completelydifferent compared to the reference site because there weremostly abundant species Abundant and not very abundantspecies were registered in the reference site

In the RDS a change between the floral compositionof the communities in the contaminated and the referencezone was found (Table 4) although it kept the same rich-ness (Table 3) and a relationship is still being maintainedregarding the proportion among the abundance of species(Figure 2) which was not the case for the MDS where asidefrom the change in species (Table 4) the richness showed acontrast between both sites (Table 3) In the contaminatedsite a higher number of dominant species were presentand there was an absence of species with low abundance(Figure 3) With the results it became evident that the changein floral composition was one of the effects of metals in thecommunities of the area which is similar to what has beenreported in other environments [7ndash9]

Luoma [77] arguments that the presence of species tol-erant to pollution in a community is a strong evidence thata pollutant is causing adverse effects over it Some of thespecies that were only found in the contaminated zone ofthe RDS (B veronicaefolia E karvinskianus L tridentataand P laevigata) have previously been registered as beingaccumulative and tolerant to metals [78ndash81]

The presence of tolerant species and the absence ofsensitive ones the increase or decrease in the abundanceof species the change in their composition are the maineffects that were found in plant communities within thearea of Villa de la Paz these effects are causing a changein the structure of their communities which could lead to


Table 4 Composition of species for the rosettophyllous desert scrub (RDS) and the microphyllous desert scrub (MDS)

Site Species Acronym RDS MDS

Contaminated Reference Contaminated Reference

Both sites

Dyssodia acerosa Dyac X X X X

Prosopis laevigata Prla mdash mdash X X

Parthenium incanum Pain mdash mdash X X

Larrea tridentata Latr mdash mdash X X

Jatropha dioica Jadi X X X X

Zaluzania triloba Zatr mdash mdash X X

Senna wislizeni Sewi mdash mdash X X

Bahia absinthifolia Baab mdash mdash X X

Zinnia acerosa Ziac mdash mdash X X

Euphorbia prostrata Eupo mdash mdash X X

Tridens sp Trsp mdash mdash X X

Buchloe dactyloides Buda X X mdash mdash

Agave lechuguilla Agle X X mdash mdash

Karwinskia mollis Kamo X X mdash mdash

Opuntia stenopetala Opst X X mdash mdash

Acalypha sp Acsp X X mdash mdash

Mimosa biuncifera Mibi X X mdash mdash

Linum rupestre Liru X X mdash mdash

Only impacted

Loeselia coerulea Loco X mdash mdash mdash

Menodora helianthemoides Mehe X mdash mdash mdash

Condalia fasciculata Cofa X mdash mdash mdash

Erigeron karvinskianus Erka X mdash mdash mdash

Euphorbia prostrata Eupo X mdash mdash mdash

Haplopappus spinulosus Hasp X mdash mdash mdash

Condalia sp Cosp X mdash X mdash

Brickellia veronicaefolia Brbe X mdash mdash mdash

Lycium berlandieri Lybe X mdash mdash mdash

Scleropogon sp Scsp X mdash mdash mdash

Tiquilia canescens Tica X mdash X mdash

Trixis angustifolia Tran mdash mdash X mdash


Table 4 Continued



Only reference

Bouteloua curtipendula Bocu mdash X mdash mdash

Cenchrus ciliaris Ceci mdash mdash mdash X

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana Kabl mdash mdash mdash X

Conyza schiedeana Cosh mdash mdash mdash X

Lycium berlandieri Lybe mdash mdash mdash X

Opuntia lindheimeri Opli mdash mdash mdash X

Physalis sp Phsp mdash mdash mdash X

Menodora helianthemoides Mehe mdash mdash mdash X

Celtis pallida Cepa mdash mdash mdash X

Dalea bicolor Dabi mdash mdash mdash X

Erigeron karvisnkianus Erka mdash mdash mdash X

Opuntia leptocaulis Ople mdash mdash mdash X

Agave salmiana Agsa mdash mdash mdash X

Mimosa biuncifera Mibi mdash mdash mdash X

Buddleja scordioides Busc mdash mdash mdash X

Lippia sp Lisp mdash mdash mdash X

Acalypha sp Acsp mdash mdash mdash X

Cenchrus altianus Ceal mdash mdash mdash X

Lantana sp Lasp mdash mdash mdash X

Salvia ballotaeflora Saba mdash X mdash X

Strenandum sp Stsp mdash mdash mdash X

Viola sp Visp mdash mdash mdash X

Bacopa procumbens Bapr mdash X mdash mdash

Evolvulus alsinoides Eval mdash X mdash mdash

Sida absintipholia Siab mdash X mdash mdash

Amelanchier denticulata Amde mdash X mdash mdash

Condalia mexicana Come mdash X mdash mdash

Dichondra sericea Dise mdash X mdash mdash

Ferocactus pilosus Fepi mdash X mdash mdash

Scutellaria potosina Scpo mdash X mdash mdash


Table 5 Captured species from the mining site in Villa de la Paz San Luis Potosı

Site Family Species Acronym Relative Abundance

ReferenceMuridae

Sigmodon hispidus Sihi 233Neotoma mexicana Neme 233

Peromyscus maniculatus Pema 930P eremicus Peer 1163

Heteromyidae Chaetodipus nelsoni Chne 1860Dipodomys merriami Dime 5581

Contaminated Heteromyidae C nelsoni Chne 4706D merriami Dime 5294

1 3

0

5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19Species sequence

Log

rela

tive a

bund

ance

ContaminatedReference

Most abundant Least abundant

Agle

Agle

Loco

KamoMehe

Erka EupoOpst

Hasp

Brve

Cofa

Bocu

BudaJadi

Jadi

Opst

Acsp

Bapr

Mibi

Saba

BudaKam

o

Siab

DyacLiru Ly

beMibi

Scsp

Tica Acsp

Cosp

Come

DiseFep

iLiru Scp

oAmde

DyacEval

1

3

4

24

44

22

1

3 11

minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24

Figure 2 Abundance-diversity model from the rosettophyllousdesert scrub (RDS) 1 species with the greatest abundance in thereference site 2 species with a greater abundance in the impactedsite 3 species only present in the reference site and 4 species onlypresent in the impacted site (see Table 4 for the acronyms)

an imbalanced ecosystem and it will be reflected in thealterations of its properties such as productivity and thebiogeochemical cycles The plant communities in the MDSare at higher risk than the communities in theRDS because ofthe changes on their structure and the loss of diversity whichcan lead to an imbalance of their ecosystem properties Asideof this if the impacts towards the environment continue thecommunities from the RDS could present this same risk

One of the first visible symptoms of the environmentalstress due to contamination is the changes in vegetation thelatter being a component of an ecosystem which fully reflectsthe features of its site The changes in the plant communitiesalso represent a direct risk for the animal communitiesthat depend on them As a result plant communities are agood indicator of the changes in the site Hence researchon the changes in vegetation as well as changes in thestructure of plant communities and their dynamics providesthe necessary information not only for assessing the degree

Species sequence1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31

Log

relat

ive a

bund

ance


Prle

PrlePain

Latr

Latr

Dyac

Tran

Ziac

Cosp

Baab

Tica Eupo

Eupo

Jadi

Zatr

Sewi

Sewi

Jadi

CeciKabl

Opli

Lybe

Cosp

Pain Sisp

Dyac

Mehe

Ople

Erka

DabiMibi

Agsa

Zatr

LispBusc

ZiacVisp

TrspSts

pSab

aLasp

Ceal Acsp

Baab

Cepa

22

1

33

4

2 22

2

2


minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24

Figure 3 Abundance-diversity model from the microphyllousdesert scrub (MDS) 1 species with the greatest abundance in thereference site 2 species with a greater abundance in the impactedsite 3 species only present in the reference site and 4 species onlypresent in the impacted site (see Table 4 for the acronyms)

of contamination and degradation of the environment butalso for the measurement of the decrease in its productionpotential [82]

35Wild Rodent Communities During the six outings for thesystemic capturing-recapturing of rodents a total of 77rodents were captured (43 from the reference site and 34 fromthe polluted site)

The sampling period took place from September 2005 toMay 2007 In the reference site six species belonging to twodifferent families were captured Heteromyidae andMuridaeand in the contaminated site two species belonging to theHeteromyidae family were found (Table 5)

Just like in the plant communities diversity is madeup of the number of species (richness) and the number ofindividuals of each species (equity) In Figure 4 how therodent community diversity in the reference site (1198671015840 = 128)is greater than that in the contaminated site (1198671015840 = 069) isshown it is likely that this decrease in the diversity is actuallya response from communities towardsmetals which could be


0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14

Reference ContaminatedSites

Shannon diversity index

H998400

Figure 4 Diversity of rodents in the mining site of Villa de la Pazand the reference zone

attributed to a difference in sensitivity towards contaminantsamong species This way sensitive species are replaced fortolerant species or they are definitely eliminated [66 74]

One alternative is that the concentrations of metals canfirst of all affect the species of plants that are used as source offood for distinct species of rodents and with the absence ofspecies to feed upon rodents will emigrate to other areas

There are no similar studies in communities of rodentswith which we can compare the obtained results on thisresearch

Species richness has been employed as indicator ofecological integrity (ecosystem distress syndrome) reducedspecies richness is one of the most consistent responsesto assess effects of contaminants and also has high socialrelevance Diversity indices provide important informationabout rarity and commonness of species in a communitythey have been employed as integrative indicator The abilityto quantify diversity in this way is an important tool for biol-ogists and ecotoxicologist trying to understand communitystructure and effects derivatives of anthropogenic activitiesin biomonitoring studies [66]

4 Conclusions

The concentrations of As and Pb exceed the maximumallowed limits established by the NOM-147-SEMARNAT-2004 and by the Canadian guides for environmental pro-tection Metals and As in the mining district of Villa de laPaz are bioavailable because concentrations of them werefound in roots and organs of wild rodents [25] Regarding thecommunity level analysis a change in the plant compositionwas registered as well as a loss in diversity of the plantcommunities and rodents high concentrations of metalspresent in plants the tissues of rodents and the roots of plantspecies and the registered effects on a molecular level inrodents from the contaminated site [25] all strong evidence

of the existent risk in the biotic communities of Villa de laPaz San Luis Potosi caused by the mining activities that takeplace there However there is also a possibility that this loss ofdiversity is due to the continuous fragmentation of the habitatand regional stressors (eg climatic change desertificationand drought) in the municipalities of Villa de la Paz andMatehuala

It is also important to mention that risk assessments aremade in Mexico often neglects the assessment of biota (somecomponents) which represents a severe problem becausethey are an essential part of the ecosystem and if the bioticcomponents are affected at some time will be reflected inthe health of the human population In the northern part ofMexico and particularly in San Luis Potosi there are variousmining areas (Villa de Ramos Charcas and Cedral) withsimilar characteristics as Villa de la Paz The results of thisstudy will allow the selection of sites and species in order toincorporate them in a medium and long range monitoringprogram on the effect of metals and As for the region

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the National Coun-cil for Science and Technology (SEP-CONACYT-CienciaBasica-178778) and the Autonomous University of San LuisPotosi (UASLP) through the Fund for the support of research(C12-FAI-03-6767) The authors thank the taxonomist JoseGarcıa Perez from Instituto de Investigaciones de ZonasDeserticas de la UASLP for identifying the plant speciesThey also thank Laura Martınez Turrubiartes for the Englishlanguage editing of the paper

References

[1] PNUMAIPCS ldquoEvaluacion de los riesgos quımicos humanosambientales y ecologicosrdquo Programa de las Naciones UnidadPara el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA) Programme for the SoundManagement of Chemicals (IPCS) Geneva Switzerland 1999

[2] J O Nriagu and J M Pacyna ldquoQuantitative assessment ofworldwide contamination of air water and soils by tracemetalsrdquoNature vol 333 no 6169 pp 134ndash139 1988

[3] N Madhavan and V Subramanian ldquoSulphide mining as asource of arsenic in the environmentrdquo Current Science vol 78no 6 pp 702ndash709 2000

[4] United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ldquoMiningand sustainable development II challenges and perspectivesrdquoIndustry and Environment vol 23 p 95 2000

[5] J L Fernandez-Turiel P Acenolaza M E Medina J F Llorensand F Sardi ldquoAssessment of a smelter impact area using surfacesoils and plantsrdquo Environmental Geochemistry and Health vol23 no 1 pp 65ndash78 2001

[6] M C Jung ldquoHeavy metal contamination of soils and watersin and around the Imcheon Au-Ag mine Koreardquo AppliedGeochemistry vol 16 no 11-12 pp 1369ndash1375 2001


[7] D RMorrey A JM Baker and J A Cooke ldquoFloristic variationin plant communities on metalliferous mining residues inthe northern and southern Pennines Englandrdquo EnvironmentalGeochemistry and Health vol 10 no 1 pp 11ndash20 1988

[8] M Salemaa I Vanha-Majamaa and J Derome ldquoUnderstoreyvegetation along a heavy-metal pollution gradient in SWFinlandrdquo Environmental Pollution vol 112 no 3 pp 339ndash3502001

[9] S Koptsik GKoptsik S Livantsova L Eruslankina T Zhmelk-ova and Z Vologdina ldquoHeavy metals in soils near the nickelsmelter chemistry spatial variation and impacts on plantdiversityrdquo Journal of Environmental Monitoring vol 5 no 3 pp441ndash450 2003

[10] E Taucer ldquoMitigacion de las amenazas a la biodiversidad por lasactividades mineras en el corredor de conservacion Vilcabam-ba-Amboro (Bolivia-Peru)rdquo in Artesanos del socavon Pequenaminerıa y minerıa artesanal en America Latina M Bernalesand J Valdivia Eds pp 44ndash71 UNESCO Fondo Editorial delCongreso del Peru Futuro Sostenible Lima Peru 2006

[11] SGM Anuario Estadıstico de la Minerıa Mexicana Ampliada2011 Servicio Geologico Mexicano y Secretarıa de Economıa2012

[12] J Castro-Larragoitia U Kramar and H Puchelt ldquo200 yearsof mining activities at La PazSan Luis PotosıMexicomdashconsequences for environment and geochemical explorationrdquoJournal of Geochemical Exploration vol 58 no 1 pp 81ndash91 1997

[13] M Monroy M F Dıaz-Barriga I Razo and L CarrizalesEvaluacion de la contaminacion por arsenico y metales pesados(Pb Cu Zn) y analisis de riesgo en salud en Villa de la Paz-Matehuala SLP [MS thesis] Instituto de Metalurgia Univer-sidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosı San Luis Potosı Mexico2002

[14] M Monroy M F Dıaz-Barriga I Razo and L Carrizales Evi-dencias de contaminacion de agua y sedimento por arsenico enel area de Cerrito Blanco municipio de Matehuala SLP [MSthesis] Instituto de Metalurgia Universidad Autonoma de SanLuis Potosı San Luis Potosı Mexico 2002

[15] I Razo L Carrizales J Castro F Dıaz-Barriga andMMonroyldquoArsenic and heavymetal pollution of soil water and sedimentsin a semi-arid climate mining area in Mexicordquo Water Air andSoil Pollution vol 152 no 1ndash4 pp 129ndash152 2004

[16] J A Chipres J C Salinas J Castro-Larragoitia and M GMonroy ldquoGeochemical mapping of major and trace elementsin soils from theAltiplano PotosinoMexico amulti-scale com-parisonrdquoGeochemistry Exploration Environment Analysis vol8 no 3-4 pp 279ndash290 2008

[17] J A Chipres J Castro-Larragoitia and M G MonroyldquoExploratory and spatial data analysis (EDA-SDA) for deter-mining regional background levels and anomalies of poten-tially toxic elements in soils from Catorce-Matehuala MexicordquoApplied Geochemistry vol 24 no 8 pp 1579ndash1589 2009

[18] L Yanez J Calderon L Carrizales and M F Dıaz-BarrigaldquoEvaluacion del riesgo en sitios contaminados por plomo apli-cando un modelo de exposicion integral (IEUBK)rdquo in Evalu-acion de riesgos para la salud en la poblacion expuesta a metalesen Bolivia F Dıaz-Barriga Ed p 90 Centro Panamericanode Ecologıa Humana y Salud Division de Salud y AmbienteEstado de Mexico Metepec Mexico 1997

[19] J Calderon M E Navarro M E Jimenez-Capdeville and MF Dıaz-Barriga ldquoNeurobehavioral effects among children

exposed chronically to arsenic cadmium and leadrdquo in Proceed-ings of the 3rd International Conference on Arsenic Exposure andHealth Effect p 8 San Diego Calif USA 1998

[20] L Carrizales L Batres M Ortiz et al ldquoEfectos en salud asocia-dos con la exposicion a residuos peligrososrdquo Scientiae Naturaevol 2 no 1 pp 5ndash28 1999

[21] M F Dıaz-Barriga ldquoMetodologıa identificacion y evaluacion deriesgos para la salud en sitios contaminadosrdquo Centro Panamer-icano de Ingenierıa Sanitaria y Ciencias del Ambiente LimaPeru 1999

[22] J Mejıa L Yanez L Carrizales and M F Dıaz-BarrigaldquoEvaluacion integral del riesgo en sitios contaminados unapropuesta metodologicardquo Scientiae Naturae vol 4 pp 25ndash422001

[23] L Yanez E Garcıa-Nieto E Rojas et al ldquoDNAdamage in bloodcells from children exposed to arsenic and lead in a miningareardquo Environmental Research vol 93 no 3 pp 231ndash240 2003

[24] S P Gamino-Gutierrez C I Gonzalez-Perez M E Gonsebattand M G Monroy-Fernandez ldquoArsenic and lead contamina-tion in urban soils of Villa de la Paz (Mexico) affected byhistorical mine wastes and its effect on childrenrsquos health studiedby micronucleated exfoliated cells assayrdquo Environmental Geo-chemistry and Health vol 35 no 1 pp 37ndash51 2013

[25] Y Jasso-Pineda G Espinosa-Reyes D Gonzalez-Mille et alldquoAn integrated health risk assessment approach to the study ofmining sites contaminated with arsenic and leadrdquo IntegratedEnvironmental Assessment and Management vol 3 no 3 pp344ndash350 2007

[26] L Chapa-Vargas J J Mejıa-Saavedra K Monzalvo-Santos andF Puebla-Olivares ldquoBlood lead concentrations in wild birdsfrom a pollutedmining region at Villa de la Paz San Luis PotosıMexicordquo Journal of Environmental Science and Health A vol 45no 1 pp 90ndash98 2010

[27] B Machado-Estrada J Calderon R Moreno-Sanchez and J SRodrıguez-Zavala ldquoAccumulation of arsenic lead copper andzinc and synthesis of phytochelatins by indigenous plants ofa mining impacted areardquo Environmental Science and PollutionResearch vol 20 no 6 pp 3946ndash3955 2013

[28] S A Hasan Q Fariduddin B Ali S Hayat and A AhmadldquoCadmium toxicity and tolerance in plantsrdquo Journal of Environ-mental Biology vol 30 no 2 pp 165ndash174 2009

[29] R Eisler Copper Hazards to Fish Wildlife and InvertebratesA Synoptic Review Biological Science Report no 33 USGeological Survey Biological Resources Division 1998

[30] R A Efroymson M E Will G W Suter II and A C WootenToxicological Benchmarks for Screening Contaminants of Poten-tial Concern for Effects on Terrestrial Plants 1997 Revision USDepartment of Energy Oak Ridge Tenn USA 1997

[31] S Cheng ldquoHeavy metals in plants and phytoremediationrdquoEnvironmental Science and Pollution Research vol 10 no 5 pp335ndash340 2003

[32] A Kashem and B R Singh ldquoHeavy metal contamination ofsoil and vegetation in the vicinity of industries in BangladeshrdquoWater Air and Soil Pollution vol 115 no 1ndash4 pp 347ndash361 1999

[33] D Peplow ldquoEnvironmental impacts of mining in easternWash-ingtonrdquo Center for Water and Watershed Studies University ofWashington Seattle Wash USA 1999

[34] R A Medellın M Equihua and M A Amin ldquoBat diversityand abundance as indicators of disturbance in neotropicalrainforestrdquo Conservation Biology vol 14 no 6 pp 1666ndash16752000


[35] B P Mishra O P Tripathi R S Tripathi and H N PandeyldquoEffects of anthropogenic disturbance on plant diversity andcommunity structure of a sacred grove inMeghalaya northeastIndiardquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 13 no 2 pp 421ndash4362004

[36] J A Vasquez J M A Vega B Matsuhiro and C UrzualdquoThe ecological effects ofmining discharges on subtidal habitatsdominated by macroalgae in northern Chile population andcommunity level studiesrdquo Hydrobiologia vol 398-399 pp 217ndash229 1999

[37] D K Niyogi W M Lewis Jr and D M McKnight ldquoEffects ofstress from mine drainage on diversity biomass and functionof primary producers in mountain streamsrdquo Ecosystems vol 5no 6 pp 554ndash567 2002

[38] A A Ramadan ldquoHeavy metal pollution and biomonitoringplants in Lake Manzala Egyptrdquo Pakistan Journal of BiologicalSciences vol 6 no 13 pp 1108ndash1117 2003

[39] T P Sullivan and D S Sullivan ldquoVegetation managementand ecosystem disturbance impact of glyphosate herbicide onplant and animal diversity in terrestrial systemsrdquoEnvironmentalReviews vol 11 no 1 pp 37ndash59 2003

[40] M T Fountain and S P Hopkin ldquoBiodiversity of collembolain urban soils and the use of Folsomia candida to assess soillsquoqualityrsquordquo Ecotoxicology vol 13 no 6 pp 555ndash572 2004

[41] H Freitas M N V Prasad and J Pratas ldquoPlant communitytolerant to trace elements growing on the degraded soils of SaoDomingos mine in the south east of Portugal environmentalimplicationsrdquo Environment International vol 30 no 1 pp 65ndash72 2004

[42] S S Talmage and B T Walton ldquoSmall mammals as monitorsof environmental contaminantsrdquo Reviews of EnvironmentalContamination and Toxicology vol 119 pp 47ndash145 1991

[43] B V Erry M R MacNair A A Meharg and R F ShoreldquoArsenic contamination in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus)and bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) on abandoned minesites in southwest Britainrdquo Environmental Pollution vol 110 no1 pp 179ndash187 2000

[44] K C Torres and M L Johnson ldquoBioaccumulation of metals inplants arthropods and mice at a seasonal wetlandrdquo Environ-mental Toxicology and Chemistry vol 20 no 11 pp 2617ndash26262001

[45] A Milton J A Cooke and M S Johnson ldquoAccumulation oflead zinc and cadmium in a wild population of Clethrionomysglareolus from an abandoned lead minerdquo Archives of Environ-mental Contamination and Toxicology vol 44 no 3 pp 405ndash411 2003

[46] L A Ieradi J Zima F Allegra et al ldquoEvaluation of genotoxicdamage in wild rodents from a polluted area in the CzechRepublicrdquo Folia Zoologica vol 52 no 1 pp 57ndash66 2003

[47] R Sumbera V Barus and F Tenora ldquoHeavy metals in the sil-very mole-rat Heliophobius argenteocinereus (BathyergidaeRodentia) fromMalawirdquo Folia Zoologica vol 52 no 2 pp 149ndash153 2003

[48] H Reynolds ldquoThe ecology of the Merriam kangaroo rat (Dip-odomys merriami Mearns) on the grazing lands of southernArizonardquoEcologicalMonographs vol 28 no 2 pp 110ndash127 1958

[49] J da Silva T R O de Freitas J R Marinho G Speit and BErdtmann ldquoAn alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet)assay for environmental biomonitoring with native rodentsrdquoGenetics andMolecular Biology vol 23 no 1 pp 241ndash245 2000

[50] F FestaM Cristaldi L A Ieradi SMoreno and R Cozzi ldquoThecomet assay for the detection of DNA damage in Mus spretus

from Donana National Parkrdquo Environmental Research vol 91no 1 pp 54ndash61 2003

[51] G D Kataev J Suomela and P Palokangas ldquoDensities ofmicrotine rodents along a pollution gradient from a copper-nickel smelterrdquo Oecologia vol 97 no 4 pp 491ndash498 1994

[52] E Garcıa Modificaciones al Sistema de Clasificacion Climaticade Koppen Instituto de Geografıa Universidad NacionalAutonoma de Mexico Coyoacan Mexico 2004

[53] Instituto Nacional de Estadıstica Geografıa e Informatica(INEGI) Sıntesis de informacion geografica del estado de SanLuis Potosı INEGI Aguascalientes Mexico 2002

[54] J Rzedowski Vegetacion de Mexico Limusa Mexico CityMexico 1978

[55] Instituto Nacional de Estadıstica Geografıa e Informatica(INEGI)Anuario Estadıstico San Luis Potosı 2012 httpwwwinegiorgmxestcontenidosespanolsistemasaee12estatalslpdefaulthtm

[56] M C Molina M E Garcıa R R Aguirre and C E GonzalezldquoLa reserva de semillas de un pastizal de Bouteloua gracilisrdquoAgrociencia vol 1 no 3 pp 93ndash103 1991

[57] D Mueller-Dombois and H Ellengerg Aims and Methods ofVegetation Ecology John Wiley amp Sons New York NY USA1974

[58] L J Franco G A de la Cruz A G Cruz et al Manual deEcologıa Trillas Tlalnepantla de BazMexico 2nd edition 1989

[59] J E Brower J H Zar and C N von Ende Field and LaboratoryMethods for General Ecology McGraw-Hill BostonMass USA4th edition 1998

[60] G A F SeberThe Estimation of Animal Abundance and RelatedParameters Griffin London UK 1973

[61] L Boitani and T K Fuller Research Techniques in Ani-mal Ecology Controversies and Consequences University PressColumbia New York NY USA 2000

[62] M Romero-Almaraz C Sanchez-Hernandez C Garcıa-Estrada and R OwenMamıferos pequenos Manual de tecnicasde captura preparacion preservacion y estudio UNAMCoyoacan Mexico 2nd edition 2007

[63] A E Magurran Diversidad ecologica y su medicion VEDRABarcelona Spain 1989

[64] R Margalef Ecologıa Planeta Barcelona Spain 1981[65] K Hutcheson ldquoA test for comparing diversities based on the

Shannon formulardquo Journal of Theoretical Biology vol 29 no 1pp 151ndash154 1970

[66] W H Clements andM C Newman Community EcotoxicologyJohn Wiley amp Sons London UK 2002

[67] Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines (CEQG) Cana-dian Council of Ministers of the Environment 1999

[68] C Cervantes and S R Moreno Contaminacion ambiental pormetales pesados impacto en los seres vivo AGT Editor MexicoCity Mexico 1999

[69] A Kabata-Pendias and H Pendias Trace Elements in Soils andPlants CRC Press Boca Raton Fla USA 2001

[70] S E Lorenz R E Hamon P E Holm et al ldquoCadmium and zincin plants and soil solutions from contaminated soilsrdquo Plant andSoil vol 189 no 1 pp 21ndash31 1997

[71] A R Memon D Aktoprakligil A Ozdemir and A VertiildquoHeavy metal accumulation and detoxification mechanisms inplantsrdquoTurkish Journal of Botany vol 25 no 3 pp 111ndash121 2001

[72] M Ghosh and S P Singh ldquoA review on phytoremediation ofheavy metals and utilization of its byproductsrdquo Applied Ecologyand Environmental Research vol 3 no 1 pp 1ndash18 2005


[73] A L Youngman T L Williams and L S Tien ldquoPatterns ofaccumulation of heavy metals in non-woody vegetation estab-lished on zinc-lead smelter contaminated soilsrdquo in Proceedingsof the Conference on Hazardous Waste Research pp 134ndash1411998

[74] D G Lumsdon J C L Meeussen E Paterson L M GardenandPAnderson ldquoUse of solid phase characterisation andlsquochem-ical modelling for assessing the behaviour of arsenic in contam-inated soilsrdquo Applied Geochemistry vol 16 no 6 pp 571ndash5812001

[75] Q-R Wang Y-S Cui X-M Liu Y-T Dong and P ChristieldquoSoil contamination and plant uptake of heavy metals atpolluted sites in Chinardquo Journal of Environmental Science andHealth A vol 38 no 5 pp 823ndash838 2003

[76] F Malaisse A Baker and S Ruell ldquoDiversity of plant commu-nities and leaf heavy metal content at Luiswishi coppercobaltmineralization Upper Katanga Dem Rep Congordquo Biotechnol-ogy Agronomy Society Environment vol 3 no 2 pp 104ndash1141999

[77] S N Luoma ldquoThe dynamics of biologically available mercuryin a small estuaryrdquo Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science vol 5no 5 pp 643ndash652 1977

[78] H W Martin T R Young D I Kaplan L Simon and D CAdriano ldquoEvaluation of three herbaceous index plant speciesfor bioavailability of soil cadmium chromium nickel andvanadiumrdquo Plant and Soil vol 182 no 2 pp 199ndash207 1996

[79] J L Gardea-Torresdey L Polette S Arteaga K J TiemannJ Bibb and J H Gonzalez ldquoDetermination of the content ofhazardous heavy metals on Larrea tridentata grown around acontaminated areardquo in Proceedings of the Conference on Haz-ardous Waste Research p 10 1998

[80] J L Gardea-Torresdey J Bibb K J Tiemann J H Gonzalezand J L Arenas ldquoAdsorption of copper ions from solution byheavymetal stressed Larrea tridentate (creosote bush) biomassrdquoin Proceedings of the Conference on Hazardous Waste Researchp 11 1998

[81] A H Bu-Olayan and B V Thomas ldquoBiomonitoring studies onthe lead levels inmesquite (Prosopis juliflora) in the arid ecosys-tem of Kuwaitrdquo Kuwait Journal of Science and Engineering vol29 no 1 pp 65ndash73 2002

[82] J Sienkiewicz ldquoEffect of heavy-metals industry on plant com-munitiesrdquoThe Science of the Total Environment vol 55 pp 339ndash349 1986

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

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ToxinsJournal of

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Drug DeliveryJournal of



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Emergency Medicine InternationalHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014


Autoimmune Diseases


Anesthesiology Research and Practice

ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of


Pharmaceutics


MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of


are extracted which represents 13 of the gross domesticproduct showing that mining is an important economicactivity in our country [11]

The mining district of Santa Marıa de la Paz is locatedbetween the municipalities of Villa de la Paz and Matehualain the state of San Luis Potosı A skarn deposit of Pb-Zn-Ag (Cu-Au) (metamorphic rocks made of silicates ofcalcium (Ca) iron (Fe) andmagnesium (Mg) derived from aprotolith limestone and dolomite in which great quantities ofaluminum (Al) Fe and Mg have been introduced) is foundin this district

The main activity in Villa de la Paz is the extraction offluorite Zn Ag Cu Pb bentonite Au clay silica limestoneand salt For the past few years 2007ndash2012 24666536 tonof Au Ag Cd Cu Pb Zn has been extracted [11] Thisactivity has been taking place for the past 200 years and ithas generated a great amount of waste (tailings and deposits)which lies in open air and is exposed to environmentalweathering it represents a risk of environmental pollution

Several studies have been done in that mining regionto determine whether risk to human health and diversebiological components exists Among the studies that havebeen done there are those regarding environmental charac-terization [12ndash17] in some of these it has been proven thatrisk for the health of human populations in the area due tothe exposure to heavy metals and As exists [18ndash24] On theother hand studies regarding exposure and effects on diversespecies of flora and fauna have also been done [25ndash27]

Heavy metal accumulation in plants has multiple directand indirect effects on plant growth and alters many phys-iological functions by forming complexes with O N and Sligands They interfere with membrane functioning waterrelations protein metabolism and seed germination [28]Impediment of proper absorption and essential elementtransport in plants metabolic alterations decrease and inhi-bition of adequate growth reproductive alterations wiltingchlorosis dehydration mortality and photosynthesis inhibi-tion are among the main reported effects on plants due toheavy metal exposure [29ndash31]

Regarding the effects of mining activities on plant com-munities the presence of different concentration levels ofmetals such as Cd Cu Se and Zn in soil and water has beenreported and is known to reduce the diversity and abundancein plant communities [32 33]

The study of diversity and abundance among species hasbeen commonly used as an indicator of biotic integrity indifferent types of ecosystems [34 35] Some studies have usedthe diversity and structure of communities (plants andoranimals) to demonstrate the effect of exposure to a certainpollutant such as pest-control substances metals herbicideschemical wastes residual water discharge to name a few[32 36ndash41]

The study done on wild rodents and small mammals inpolluted sites has been focused on evaluating the bioaccumu-lation and sublethal effects (DNA damage oxidative stressetc) [25 42ndash50] These kinds of projects are important butare generally not very ecologically relevant In what concernsstudies in superior levels of biological organization in RusiaKataev et al [51] registered that the population densities of

rodents that are found close towhere themining activity takesplace are lower in comparison to the ones found farther away

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impactof the mining activity on biotic communities in the miningdistrict of Villa de la Paz In order to do this the determinationof the heavymetals andAswas done in soil and roots of plantsas well as the estimation of parameters in the communities ofplants and rodents

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Site Themining district of SantaMaria de la Paz islocated on 23∘411015840 longitude N and 100∘381015840 latitude WWithinthis district we can find Villa de la Paz which has beenexploited for over 200 years The predominant weather inthe region is mild semidry with rains in the summer [52]The average annual temperature is between 12∘ and 18∘Cthe total annual precipitation varies from 400 to 600mm[53] Haplic and calcic xerosols are the dominant soils whichare the typical types of soil in semiarid regions [53] Themain types of vegetation are the xerophytic scrubland and thegypsophyllous grassland [54] The main economic activitiesin the region are mining agricultural production livestockproduction and tourism [53 55]

22 Selection of Sampling Sites The main types of dominantvegetation selected within the area of study were the micro-phyllous desert scrub (MDS) and the rosettophyllous desertscrub (RDS) a sampling site was chosen within in each ofthese considering the areas with the highest arsenic andmetal concentrations [15 25] Aside of this two sites withina reference zone were selected (with similar exposure relieflithology altitude and condition) tomake a comparison withthe polluted zone This zone is located approximately 10 kmsouth of the impacted zone (Figure 1)

Plant root and soil samplings took place in each of theselected sites during the months of May and June of 2004

23 Environmental Monitoring The quantification of As CuPb and Zn was done in plant species in order to measurethe concentrations to which they were exposed Fifty samplesfrom the superficial soil were obtained (0 to 10 cmof depth) ineach of the sampling sites to obtain a total of 60 soil samplesThe samples were collected using the same transects that wereused for the plant sampling (see under) five points wereestablished every 5mwithin the sampling areas starting fromthe origin of the line (0m) and up to 20m [56] In each of thepoints 10 cm3 blocks of soil were extracted using a shovel andwere put in polyethylene bags so they could be transportedand analyzed elsewhere

24Monitoring of Plant Species Theplant samplingwas donethrough the point quadrats method [57] and three transectswere traced perpendicularly to the slope in each of the sites(in a southeast-northeast direction with an average lengthof 20m) in order to obtain the frequency the basal areathe density and the value of importance of the plant species[58 59]


MDS

Matehuala

MDS

Villa de la Paz


H El Fraile

H Calabacillas

RDS

Sierra de Catorce

N

RDS

asymp 10km






119894=1
































RDS

Reference




Dyac 07 100 223 10

Contaminated





MDS

Reference





Contaminated

















MDS



lowast

119875 lt 005


















Both sites



















Only impacted














Table 4 Continued



Only reference


































ReferenceMuridae





1 3

0


Log

rela

tive a

bund

ance



Agle

Agle

Loco

KamoMehe

Erka EupoOpst

Hasp

Brve

Cofa

Bocu

BudaJadi

Jadi

Opst

Acsp

Bapr

Mibi

Saba

BudaKam

o

Siab

DyacLiru Ly

beMibi

Scsp

Tica Acsp

Cosp

Come

DiseFep

iLiru Scp

oAmde

DyacEval

1

3

4

24

44

22

1

3 11

minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24





Log

relat

ive a

bund

ance


Prle

PrlePain

Latr

Latr

Dyac

Tran

Ziac

Cosp

Baab

Tica Eupo

Eupo

Jadi

Zatr

Sewi

Sewi

Jadi

CeciKabl

Opli

Lybe

Cosp

Pain Sisp

Dyac

Mehe

Ople

Erka

DabiMibi

Agsa

Zatr

LispBusc

ZiacVisp

TrspSts

pSab

aLasp

Ceal Acsp

Baab

Cepa

22

1

33

4

2 22

2

2


minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24







0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14



H998400






4 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References




























































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of


MDS

Matehuala

MDS

Villa de la Paz


H El Fraile

H Calabacillas

RDS

Sierra de Catorce

N

RDS

asymp 10km






119894=1
































RDS

Reference




Dyac 07 100 223 10

Contaminated





MDS

Reference





Contaminated

















MDS



lowast

119875 lt 005


















Both sites



















Only impacted














Table 4 Continued



Only reference


































ReferenceMuridae





1 3

0


Log

rela

tive a

bund

ance



Agle

Agle

Loco

KamoMehe

Erka EupoOpst

Hasp

Brve

Cofa

Bocu

BudaJadi

Jadi

Opst

Acsp

Bapr

Mibi

Saba

BudaKam

o

Siab

DyacLiru Ly

beMibi

Scsp

Tica Acsp

Cosp

Come

DiseFep

iLiru Scp

oAmde

DyacEval

1

3

4

24

44

22

1

3 11

minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24





Log

relat

ive a

bund

ance


Prle

PrlePain

Latr

Latr

Dyac

Tran

Ziac

Cosp

Baab

Tica Eupo

Eupo

Jadi

Zatr

Sewi

Sewi

Jadi

CeciKabl

Opli

Lybe

Cosp

Pain Sisp

Dyac

Mehe

Ople

Erka

DabiMibi

Agsa

Zatr

LispBusc

ZiacVisp

TrspSts

pSab

aLasp

Ceal Acsp

Baab

Cepa

22

1

33

4

2 22

2

2


minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24







0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14



H998400






4 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References




























































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of

























RDS

Reference




Dyac 07 100 223 10

Contaminated





MDS

Reference





Contaminated

















MDS



lowast

119875 lt 005


















Both sites



















Only impacted














Table 4 Continued



Only reference


































ReferenceMuridae





1 3

0


Log

rela

tive a

bund

ance



Agle

Agle

Loco

KamoMehe

Erka EupoOpst

Hasp

Brve

Cofa

Bocu

BudaJadi

Jadi

Opst

Acsp

Bapr

Mibi

Saba

BudaKam

o

Siab

DyacLiru Ly

beMibi

Scsp

Tica Acsp

Cosp

Come

DiseFep

iLiru Scp

oAmde

DyacEval

1

3

4

24

44

22

1

3 11

minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24





Log

relat

ive a

bund

ance


Prle

PrlePain

Latr

Latr

Dyac

Tran

Ziac

Cosp

Baab

Tica Eupo

Eupo

Jadi

Zatr

Sewi

Sewi

Jadi

CeciKabl

Opli

Lybe

Cosp

Pain Sisp

Dyac

Mehe

Ople

Erka

DabiMibi

Agsa

Zatr

LispBusc

ZiacVisp

TrspSts

pSab

aLasp

Ceal Acsp

Baab

Cepa

22

1

33

4

2 22

2

2


minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24







0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14



H998400






4 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References




























































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of






MDS



lowast

119875 lt 005


















Both sites



















Only impacted














Table 4 Continued



Only reference


































ReferenceMuridae





1 3

0


Log

rela

tive a

bund

ance



Agle

Agle

Loco

KamoMehe

Erka EupoOpst

Hasp

Brve

Cofa

Bocu

BudaJadi

Jadi

Opst

Acsp

Bapr

Mibi

Saba

BudaKam

o

Siab

DyacLiru Ly

beMibi

Scsp

Tica Acsp

Cosp

Come

DiseFep

iLiru Scp

oAmde

DyacEval

1

3

4

24

44

22

1

3 11

minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24





Log

relat

ive a

bund

ance


Prle

PrlePain

Latr

Latr

Dyac

Tran

Ziac

Cosp

Baab

Tica Eupo

Eupo

Jadi

Zatr

Sewi

Sewi

Jadi

CeciKabl

Opli

Lybe

Cosp

Pain Sisp

Dyac

Mehe

Ople

Erka

DabiMibi

Agsa

Zatr

LispBusc

ZiacVisp

TrspSts

pSab

aLasp

Ceal Acsp

Baab

Cepa

22

1

33

4

2 22

2

2


minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24







0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14



H998400






4 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References




























































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of





Both sites



















Only impacted














Table 4 Continued



Only reference


































ReferenceMuridae





1 3

0


Log

rela

tive a

bund

ance



Agle

Agle

Loco

KamoMehe

Erka EupoOpst

Hasp

Brve

Cofa

Bocu

BudaJadi

Jadi

Opst

Acsp

Bapr

Mibi

Saba

BudaKam

o

Siab

DyacLiru Ly

beMibi

Scsp

Tica Acsp

Cosp

Come

DiseFep

iLiru Scp

oAmde

DyacEval

1

3

4

24

44

22

1

3 11

minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24





Log

relat

ive a

bund

ance


Prle

PrlePain

Latr

Latr

Dyac

Tran

Ziac

Cosp

Baab

Tica Eupo

Eupo

Jadi

Zatr

Sewi

Sewi

Jadi

CeciKabl

Opli

Lybe

Cosp

Pain Sisp

Dyac

Mehe

Ople

Erka

DabiMibi

Agsa

Zatr

LispBusc

ZiacVisp

TrspSts

pSab

aLasp

Ceal Acsp

Baab

Cepa

22

1

33

4

2 22

2

2


minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24







0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14



H998400






4 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References




























































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of


Table 4 Continued



Only reference


































ReferenceMuridae





1 3

0


Log

rela

tive a

bund

ance



Agle

Agle

Loco

KamoMehe

Erka EupoOpst

Hasp

Brve

Cofa

Bocu

BudaJadi

Jadi

Opst

Acsp

Bapr

Mibi

Saba

BudaKam

o

Siab

DyacLiru Ly

beMibi

Scsp

Tica Acsp

Cosp

Come

DiseFep

iLiru Scp

oAmde

DyacEval

1

3

4

24

44

22

1

3 11

minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24





Log

relat

ive a

bund

ance


Prle

PrlePain

Latr

Latr

Dyac

Tran

Ziac

Cosp

Baab

Tica Eupo

Eupo

Jadi

Zatr

Sewi

Sewi

Jadi

CeciKabl

Opli

Lybe

Cosp

Pain Sisp

Dyac

Mehe

Ople

Erka

DabiMibi

Agsa

Zatr

LispBusc

ZiacVisp

TrspSts

pSab

aLasp

Ceal Acsp

Baab

Cepa

22

1

33

4

2 22

2

2


minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24







0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14



H998400






4 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References




























































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of




ReferenceMuridae





1 3

0


Log

rela

tive a

bund

ance



Agle

Agle

Loco

KamoMehe

Erka EupoOpst

Hasp

Brve

Cofa

Bocu

BudaJadi

Jadi

Opst

Acsp

Bapr

Mibi

Saba

BudaKam

o

Siab

DyacLiru Ly

beMibi

Scsp

Tica Acsp

Cosp

Come

DiseFep

iLiru Scp

oAmde

DyacEval

1

3

4

24

44

22

1

3 11

minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24





Log

relat

ive a

bund

ance


Prle

PrlePain

Latr

Latr

Dyac

Tran

Ziac

Cosp

Baab

Tica Eupo

Eupo

Jadi

Zatr

Sewi

Sewi

Jadi

CeciKabl

Opli

Lybe

Cosp

Pain Sisp

Dyac

Mehe

Ople

Erka

DabiMibi

Agsa

Zatr

LispBusc

ZiacVisp

TrspSts

pSab

aLasp

Ceal Acsp

Baab

Cepa

22

1

33

4

2 22

2

2


minus06

minus12

minus18

minus24







0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14



H998400






4 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References




























































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of


0

02

04

06

08

1

12

14



H998400






4 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References




























































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of






















































































Volume 2014

ToxinsJournal of

VaccinesJournal of















AddictionJournal of






Autoimmune Diseases




Journal of


Pharmaceutics



of

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