@Article{phyton.2015.84.222, AUTHOR = {Adams RH, AL Álvarez-Ovando, G Castañón N}, TITLE = {Effect of hydrocarbon concentration of pasture production (Brachiaria humidicola) in Texistepec, Veracruz}, JOURNAL = {Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany}, VOLUME = {84}, YEAR = {2015}, NUMBER = {1}, PAGES = {222--232}, URL = {http://www.techscience.com/phyton/v84n1/37152}, ISSN = {1851-5657}, ABSTRACT = {In this study, the relationship between the concentration of extra-heavy crude petroleum in a clayey material and the toxicity, field capacity, temperature, and growth of a tropical forage grass (Brachiara humidicola) was determined empirically. For this type of petroleum the acute toxicity (Microtox®) was slight (CE50 = 63200 - 76400 mg/kg) even at high hydrocarbon concentrations (29279 mg/kg). Nonetheless, serious impacts were encountered in terms of an increase in soil temperature (+ 1.3 °C), reduction in field capacity (-10.7%) and reduction in aerial biomass (-97%). The relationship between hydrocarbon concentration and biomass resulted in a typical dose-response curve (r = 0.99), where a concentration of 2626 mg/kg of hydrocarbons corresponds to a maintenance of 90% biomass. Furthermore, during the duration of this study (one year) the biodegradation was proportional to the pasture biomass production (r = 0.997) indicating a synergistic relationship between the petroleum biodegrading microorganisms in the rhizosphere and the pasture.}, DOI = {10.32604/phyton.2015.84.222} }