The Zea mays plant is a valued Ecosystem component. This biotic component was used as a marker to determine the impact the crude
oil had on the soil where it was spilled. Chlorophyll plays an important role in photosynthesis. The results indicated oil spill had
negative impact on the productivity of the soil and declined chlorophyll contents of the Zea mays. The higher the amount of crude oil
spilled on soil, the lower the quantity of chlorophyll measured, showing that crude oil reduces the rate of chlorophyll production.
