{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T08:59:09Z","timestamp":1776070749900,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,20]],"date-time":"2021-05-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1621468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Water"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Mining activities at the Portuguese sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) have been responsible for the pollution of water, sediments, and biota, caused by the acid mine drainage (AMD) from the tailing deposits. The impact has been felt for years in the rivers and streams receiving AMD from the Aljustrel mine (SW sector of the IPB, Portugal), such as at the \u00c1gua Forte stream, a tributary of the Roxo stream (Sado and Mira Hydrographic Region). To evaluate the extent of that environmental impact prior to the remediation actions, surface water, sediments, and the macrophyte Scirpus holoschoenus L. were sampled at the \u00c1gua Forte and the Roxo streams, upstream and downstream from the confluence. The surface water and the sediments were extremely acidic at the \u00c1gua Forte stream (pH ranges 2.22\u20132.92 for the water and 2.57\u20133.32 for the sediment), with high As, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations of 2.1, 120, 0.21, and 421 mg kg\u22121, respectively, in the water, and 661, 1746, 539, and 1994 mg kg\u22121, respectively, in the sediment, in the location closer to the mine. Two aquatic bioassays evidenced the high ecotoxicity of the \u00c1gua Forte water at that site, with very low EC50 values for Vibrio fischeri luminescence inhibition (&lt;3.1% v\/v) and Daphnia magna 48-hour immobilization\/mortality assays (&lt;6.3% v\/v). The impact of the AMD was also evident in the sediments of the Roxo stream, but not so marked in the water, with circa neutral pH and lower As, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations. Consistently, the ecotoxicological response was only felt in the sampling point closer to the confluence of the \u00c1gua Forte with the Roxo stream, with an EC20 of 27.0% (v\/v) towards the V. fischeri. One of the dominant and well adapted macrophytes, S. holoschoenus L., presented low bioaccumulation factors for Cu (0.04) and Zn (0.15) in their emerging parts, and very low concentrations for As and Pb, making this plant a potential candidate to be used in phytoremediation actions to treat and control AMD in the IPB.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/w13101436","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,20]],"date-time":"2021-05-20T22:31:25Z","timestamp":1621549885000},"page":"1436","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":34,"title":["Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Acid Mine Drainage on Surface Water, Stream Sediments, and Macrophytes Using a Battery of Chemical and Ecotoxicological Indicators"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3225-3358","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paula","family":"Alvarenga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"LEAF\u2014Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Agronomia, Alimentos, Ambiente e Paisagem, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"N\u00e1dia","family":"Guerreiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola Superior Agr\u00e1ria, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Beja. R. Pedro Soares S\/N, 7800-295 Beja, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Isabel","family":"Sim\u00f5es","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola Superior Agr\u00e1ria, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Beja. R. Pedro Soares S\/N, 7800-295 Beja, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Maria Jos\u00e9","family":"Imagin\u00e1rio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola Superior Agr\u00e1ria, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Beja. R. Pedro Soares S\/N, 7800-295 Beja, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9719-079X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Palma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola Superior Agr\u00e1ria, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Beja. R. Pedro Soares S\/N, 7800-295 Beja, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Ci\u00eancias da Terra (ICT), Universidade de \u00c9vora, 7000-849 \u00c9vora, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"289","article-title":"Reabilita\u00e7\u00e3o ambiental de \u00e1reas mineiras do sector portugu\u00eas da Faixa Piritosa Ib\u00e9rica: Estado da arte e perspetivas futuras","volume":"117","author":"Matos","year":"2006","journal-title":"Bolet\u00edn Geol\u00f3gico Minero"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1023\/B:WATE.0000015333.24165.5e","article-title":"Elemental uptake and root-leaves transfer in Cistus Ladanifer L. growing in a contaminated pyrite mining area (Aljustrel-Portugal)","volume":"152","author":"Alvarenga","year":"2004","journal-title":"Water Air Soil Pollut."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1063","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apgeochem.2012.02.036","article-title":"Metal partitioning in sediments and mineralogical controls on the acid mine drainage in Ribeira da \u00c1gua Forte (Aljustrel, Iberian Pyrite Belt, Southern Portugal)","volume":"27","author":"Maia","year":"2012","journal-title":"Appl. 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