Objective:

To analize the photosynthetic changes of the species Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, Pistia stratiotes L. and Salvinia auriculata Aubl. subjected to a treatment with mining wastewater.

Methodology:

The plants were exposed to a laboratory-scale treatment with residual water from a mining region of Caldas (Colombia) for six days (144 hours). The main components of the water were determined with Nanocolor test and the photosynthetic changes in the plants during the exposure to the wastewater were determined by spectrophotometric methods.

Results:

Mining wastewater is a complex matrix whose major component is cyanide (CN-) with a value of 175.00 mg/L surpassing the provisions of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia. The relationship of chlorophyll a/b and carotenes/total chlorophyll indicated that the plants E. crassipes and P. stratiotes responded to the treatment by modifying the concentrations of the pigments analyzed.

Conclusions:

The E. crassipes decreased the chlorophyll a/b ratio as an indicator of stress; the P. stratiotes increased the caroteno/total chlorophyll ratio, increasing the synthesis of carotenes to protect the tissues against stress, and the S. auriculata was the least affected, which translates into a high tolerance or adaptation of the latter species to environmental changes.

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