Lead (Pb) is one of the most toxic and persistent elements, with no known biological role. High concentrations of lead enter saline soils through anthropogenic activities and industrial waste. The decontamination of Pb polluted sites through phytoremediation, especially by using woody plants, is an attractive approach. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research Article Turk J Agric For (2016) 40: 425-432 © TÜBİTAK doi: Influence of NaCl-salinity on Pb-uptake behavior and growth of River Red gum tree (Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh.) 1, 2,3 1 Muhammad Farrakh NAWAZ *, Sadaf GUL , Muhammad Ayyoub TANVIR , 4 1 1 Javaid AKHTAR , Samira CHAUDARY , Irfan AHMAD 1 Department of Forestry, Range Management and Wildlife, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan 2 Department of Botany, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan 3 Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan 4 Institute of Soil Science and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: Lead (Pb) is one of the most toxic and persistent elements, with no known biological role. High concentrations of lead enter saline soils through anthropogenic activities and industrial waste. The decontamination of Pb polluted sites through phytoremediation, especially by using woody plants, is an attractive approach. Eucalyptus camaldulensis is a good accumulator of Pb and a recommended tree species for reclamation of saline soils. However, there is very limited knowledge about the Pb-uptake behavior of Eucalyptus camaldulensis under saline conditions. The objective of this study was to examine the simultaneous impact of NaCl salinity and Pb stress on the phytoremedial potential and growth behavior of E. camaldulensis. Six-week-old Eucalyptus camaldulensis plants with uniform morphological features were transferred into hydroponic conditions, and they were exposed to the NaCl salinity stress at 200 mM and Pb stress at 10 mg L–1 and 20 mg L–1 (Pb1 and Pb2, respectively). The plants showed a 100% survival rate in all treatments. All the morphological parameters (plant height, plant diameter, and shoot dry weight)
