The pH-dependent metal sorption by Oscillatoria- and Phormidium-dominated mats was effectively expressed by the Hill function. The estimated Hill functions can fruitfully predict the amount of metal sorbed at a particular initial pH. Pretreatment of biomass with 0.1 mmol L(-1) HCl was more effective than pretreatment with CaCl(2), HNO(3), NaOH, and SDS in enhancing metal sorption ability of the biomass. Desorption of metal ions in the presence of 100 mmol L(-1) HCl from metal-loaded mat biomass was completed within 1 h. After six cycles of metal sorption/desorption, sorption decreased by 6-15%. Only 6% and 11% of the biomass derived from the Oscillatoria sp.- and Phormidium sp.-dominated mats was lost during the cycling. The cyanobacterial mats seem to have better potential than several biomass types for use in metal sorption from wastewaters as they are ubiquitous, self-immobilized, and have good reusability. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.