Influence of Heavy Metal Contamination on THz Transmission of Plants

Mining has led to soil contamination with heavy metals in numerous regions. This contamination not only affects large-scale food cultivation but also concerns individuals who grow food in their gardens. Hence, there is a critical requirement to develop efficient and reliable methods for studying and monitoring plant exposure to these harmful substances. Currently, researchers rely on complex and time-consuming laboratory procedures that entail destructive sampling to examine plant exposure to heavy metals. This method is expensive and not suitable for extensive monitoring. In [1], the capability of continuous wave (CW) Terahertz spectroscopy to differentiate between contaminated and uncontaminated leaves of the plant species Arabidopsis halleri has already been demonstrated. In this study, the varying levels of Cadmium and Zinc concentrations in the leaves of this plant are analyzed.