Interactions between plant acclimation and adaptation to heavy metal and drought stresses, and their importance for remediation of metal-contaminated environments

矿山、冶炼厂和精炼厂附近的重金属水平升高，比如在安大略省萨德伯里附近发现的重金属水平升高，会减少植物的生长，甚至对它们来说是致命的。由此产生的土壤暴露导致了周围环境的侵蚀和含金属粉尘的排放。植物修复，即在受影响的地区种植植被，是减轻金属污染场地的环境影响的一种具有成本效益的手段，但所使用的植物必须能够忍受重金属，而且往往也能忍受干旱，因为金属污染场地往往土壤贫瘠。在田间条件下，低水平的金属对植物的影响尚不清楚，但已经证明会发生生理变化，可能会干扰植物耐受干旱等其他胁迫的能力。

Elevated levels of heavy metals close to mines, smelters and refineries, such as found around Sudbury, Ontario, reduce the growth of plants and can even be lethal for them. The resulting soil exposure leads to erosion and emissions of metal-containing dust in the surroundings. Phytoremediation, i.e., planting vegetation on the affected area is a cost-effective means to mitigate the environmental effects of metal-contaminated sites, but the used plants have to be able to tolerate heavy metals, and frequently also drought, as metal-contaminated sites tend to have poor soils. Effects of low levels of metals on plants under field conditions are not well known, but it has been shown that physiological changes occur, possibly interfering with the plant's ability to tolerate other stresses such as drought.