Aquatic Plants Mitigate Impact of Environmental Disasters

Forty-one towns in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, Brazil were affected when the Fundão iron mine tailings dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais state (Southeast Brazil) burst on November 5, 2015, and 19 people died. The toxic waste is estimated to have contaminated 240.8 hectares of Atlantic Rainforest and killed 14 metric tons of fish.

Brazilian researchers conducted fieldwork in an area affected by the dam collapse and found that Typha domingensis, a reed whose common name is Southern cattail, is effective in mitigating the impact of iron ore tailings (mining waste) on the natural environment.

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