INVESTIGATION OF POTENTIAL COPPER METALLOPHYTES IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Metallophytes are plant species capable of thriving in soils that contain unusually high levels of metals. Metallophytes have been used frequently to search for precious metals such as copper, gold, cadmium, zinc, etc. Northern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota have been a valuable source of copper in the United States since the late 1800s. Copper metallophytes have been studied and documented extensively in areas of Central Africa and Australia. However, very little literature exists regarding copper metallophytes in the midwestern United States. This project seeks to identify and document the different plant species that make up plant communities in copper-rich and non-copper-rich soils in Northern Wisconsin. Potential copper metallophytes can be identified by comparing the frequency of various plant species with the copper concentrations in the associated soils. This is accomplished by analyzing several datasets collected from tailing piles of inactive copper mines within the Brule State Forest.