Metal Accumulator Among Dominant Plants In Marginal and Mine Waste Soils of Manila Mining Corporation, Placer, Surigao del Norte, Philippines

Vegetation assessment was done in twenty-one (21) sampling locations to determine the most dominant plant species and subsequently, the best heavy metal accumulator. Seven plant species were identified dominants: Typha equisetifolia, Saccharum spontaneum, Acrostichum aureum, Dicranopteris linearis, Leucaena leucocephala L., Acacia mangium, and Paraserianthes falcataria. The best metal accumulator among tree species is Leucaena leucocephala L. (ipil-ipil), with the ability to bioaccumulate heavy metals and effectively translocate them to its aerial parts for phytoextraction. The best metal absorber among the studied non-tree species is the Dicranopteris linearis (forked fern), which has the ability to bioaccumulate cadmium and mercury, phytostablilizing mercury in its root system while translocating cadmium in the aerial parts for phytoextraction.