High levels of dissolved SO₄ in drinking water can adversely affect livestock performance. Some plant species may help to remove SO₄ and cleanse drinking water, especially S-hyperaccumulators. However, little is known about the capacity of S-hyperaccumulators to grow in rangeland wetland environments. Here we measured plant properties, S concentration, and S mass of nine plant species. Plants were grown in a wetland environment on an artificial floating island (AFI) in a mesocosm supplied with high SO₄ water (2 430−4 730 parts per million [PPM]) from a rangeland reservoir. Water properties were measured throughout the experiment. We also used our data and data from the literature to parameterize simulations and estimate the number of plants (per L) needed to reduce the SO₄ concentration from 2 000 PPM to a recommended limit of 1 000 PPM. The average sulfur concentration of the nine species was 3.8 times greater than the average of 39 species from the literature. Among the nine species, Brassica napus L., B. napus var. pabularia (DC.) Rchb., and Brassica septiceps (L. H. Bailey) L. H. Bailey tended to have the greatest shoot S concentrations. The total S mass per plant was 5 times greater for B. septiceps (44 mg × plant⁻¹) than B. juncea (L.) Czern. We found no other appreciable differences in total S mass among species. The simulations suggest that ≥ 1.9 plants × L⁻¹ of B. septiceps or ≥ 0.6 plants × L⁻¹ of B. oleracea L. would be needed to reduce the water's SO₄ concentration from 2 000 PPM to the recommended limit. Given the small amount of S removed (per plant) relative to the vast amount of dissolved SO₄ possible in rangeland water sources, planted AFIs are not likely to be a practical tool for reducing SO₄ in livestock drinking water. Conversely, water treatment systems may be justified in some cases.

饮用水中高浓度的溶解性 SO ₄会对牲畜生产性能产生不利影响。一些植物物种可能有助于去除 SO ₄和净化饮用水，尤其是 S-超富集植物。然而，人们对 S 型超蓄积器在牧场湿地环境中生长的能力知之甚少。在这里，我们测量了九种植物的植物特性、S 浓度和 S 质量。植物生长在湿地环境中的人工浮岛 (AFI) 中，提供高 SO ₄来自牧场水库的水（百万分之 2 430-4 730 [PPM]）。在整个实验过程中测量水的性质。我们还使用我们的数据和文献中的数据来参数化模拟并估计将 SO ₄浓度从 2 000 PPM 降低到 1 000 PPM 的推荐限值所需的植物数量（每升）。9 种物质的平均硫浓度是文献中 39 种物质平均值的 3.8 倍。在九个物种中，Brassica napus L.、B. napus var. pabularia (DC.) Rchb. 和Brassica septiceps (LH Bailey) LH Bailey 往往具有最高的芽 S 浓度。每株植物的总 S 质量是 5 倍B. septiceps (44 mg × 植物^-1 ) 比B. juncea (L.) Czern。我们发现物种之间的总 S 质量没有其他明显差异。的模拟表明，≥1.9×植物大号^-1的B. septiceps或≥0.6×植物大号^-1的甘蓝L.将需要降低水的SO ₄浓度为2 000 PPM到建议的限制。鉴于相对于牧场水源中可能存在的大量溶解的 SO ₄而言，去除的 S 量很小（每株植物），种植的 AFI 不太可能成为减少 SO ₄的实用工具在牲畜饮用水中。相反，在某些情况下，水处理系统可能是合理的。