[Research Progress on Heavy Metal Tolerant Plants and Hyperaccumulator in Lead-zinc Mining Areas of China]

The exploitation of mineral resources inevitably impacts the ecological environment. Tolerant plants are key to restoring damaged ecosystems, while hyperaccumulator plants offer a green and safe solution for remediating heavy metal pollution. As a major producer of lead and zinc, China faces persistent challenges of heavy metal contamination in mining areas, hindering the development of green mining practices. However, the number of reported hyperaccumulator plants for lead and zinc in China is currently very limited, and there is still a lack of systematic screening and evaluation of known tolerant plants. This limitation hinders the identification of potential hyperaccumulator plant resources and restricts the application and development of phytoremediation technologies. This study reviews research conducted from the past 24 years （2000-2023） on lead and zinc mining areas in China, identifying 296 species of tolerant plants, 15 species of lead hyperaccumulators, and 6 species of zinc hyperaccumulators and summarizing their species information and geographic distribution characteristics. It also investigates the physiological responses, accumulation characteristics, and detoxification mechanisms of known hyperaccumulator plants under lead and zinc stress. This study suggests that the existing tolerant plants are valuable resources. While conducting large-scale screening, efforts should build upon these existing tolerant plants to uncover more species suitable for remediating lead and zinc heavy metal pollution through ecological type validation and accumulation characteristic assessment. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for future research on the selection of hyperaccumulator plants and phytoremediation, promoting the application and advancement of phytoremediation technologies in lead and zinc mining areas.