[Effect of Chelating Agents and Organic Acids on Remediation of Cadmium and Arsenic Complex Contaminated Soil Using Xanthium sibiricum].

In order to improve the phytoextraction efficiency of Xanthium sibiricum on farmland soil that had been contaminated by Cd and As, this study explored the effects of chelating agents and organic acids (EDTA, SAP, CA, and MA) on the extraction of Cd and As heavy metals using X. sibiricum. The results showed that the four different chelating agents and organic acids had little effect on the biomass of the roots, stems, and leaves of X. sibiricum. However, they had different effects on the concentrations and accumulation of Cd and As in various organs of X. sibiricum. Compared with the those in the CK treatment, EDTA, SAP, CA, and MA significantly increased the Cd concentrations in the leaves of X. sibiricum by 44.1%, 32.4%, 41.2%, and 38.2% and the As concentrations in the roots of X. sibiricum by 89.6%, 7.4%, 94.8%, and 61.5%, respectively. The four treatments (EDTA, SAP, CA, and MA) improved the total Cd accumulation of X. sibiricum, with increasing ranges, respectively, of 70.2%, 29.4%, 28.9%, and 33.1%, and the As accumulation increased by 67.0%, 19.6%, 81.9%, and 40.8%, respectively, compared with that of the CK treatment. The four chelating agents and organic acids had different effects on the Cd and As bioconcentration factor and transfer factor of various organs of X. sibiricum. Treatments with EDTA, SAP, CA, and MA resulted in a decrease of 32.7%-38.2% in soil Cd concentrations and a decrease of 14.6%-20.5% in soil As concentrations. These four chelating agents can be used for enhancing the efficiency of extraction Cd and As heavy metals by X. sibiricum.

Application of different foliar iron fertilizers for enhancing the growth and antioxidant capacity of rice and minimizing cadmium accumulation.

Iron (Fe) fertilizer can reduce cadmium (Cd) uptake and toxicity in rice, but the underlying mechanisms of Cd mitigation by different fertilizers are poorly understood. Here, pot experiments in rice were conducted to characterize the effects of four types of foliar-applied Fe fertilizer (chelated ferrous Fe, ferric Fe, ionic ferrous Fe, and ferric Fe) at three doses (20, 50, and 100 mg L-1) on photosynthetic capacity, antioxidant ability, yield, and Cd accumulation in Cd-contaminated soil. The results showed that foliar Fe application increased the net photosynthesis rate by 19.3%, peroxidase (POD) by 18.2%, superoxide dismutase (SOD) by 26.9%, and catalase (CAT) by 19.6%, and led to a 7.2% increase in grain yield compared with the control. Moreover, foliar Fe application significantly reduced Cd accumulation by 15.9% in brown rice and decreased the translocation of Cd from roots to other plant tissues. Overall, application of moderate doses (50 mg L-1) of chelated ferrous Fe was the most effective method for reducing Cd uptake (decreasing the Cd concentration in brown rice by 29.0%) and toxicity in rice (decreasing malondialdehyde by 23.2% and increasing POD, SOD, and CAT by 54.4%, 51.6%, and 45.7%, respectively), which may stem from the fact that chelated ferrous Fe was a more stable and bioavailable source of Fe for rice. The Cd concentration in rice had negative relationship with Fe concentration, and the translocation of Cd from root to the other tissues was reduced by the higher Fe nutrition status in leaf, suggesting that a high Fe supply may decrease Cd content by inhibiting the expression of the Fe transport system. These results indicate that foliar application of chelated ferrous Fe provides a promising alternative approach for enhancing growth and controlling Cd accumulation in rice plants. Furthermore, these results advance our understanding of the associations between plant Fe nutrition status and Cd accumulation.

[Adsorption of Cadmium and Arsenic by Corn Stalk Biochar Solidified Microorganism].

Immobilization of bacteria on biochar can improve the performance of the soil complex polluted with cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As). In this study, bacteria (Delftia sp. B9, B9), biochar (corn stalks biochar, CSB), and biochar-bacteria complexes (B-CSB) were used as adsorption materials to explore the adsorption characteristics of Cd and As. The effects of pH on the adsorption performance of Cd and As and the ion removal from the aqueous solution were investigated, and the adsorption behaviors were simulated using an isothermal adsorption model. The changes in Cd and As speciation with the addition of B9, CSB, and B-CSB to As and Cd-contaminated soil were explored. The results showed that the Cd-saturated adsorption capacities of B9, CSB, and B-CSB were 49.43, 82.68, and 75.38 mg ·g-1, respectively; the As-saturated adsorption capacities were 24.67, 42.92, and 34.03 mg ·g-1, respectively. The concentration of available Cd and As significantly decreased, whereas the residual fraction increased after the addition of B-CSB. B-CSB was shown to be an effective material for the remediation of soil complexes polluted with Cd and As.

[Effect of Conditioning Agent Combined with Flooding Measures on Absorption and Accumulation of Cadmium in Rice].

In order to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of flooding measures, soil conditioner, silicon mineral fertilizer and sprayed foliar fertilizer, gypsum powder, and their multiple treatments for reducing Cd accumulation in rice grown in Cd-contaminated soil. A plot experiment was conducted in three different Cd-contaminated soils. The results showed that flooding measures, a single application of conditioning agents, and combined application and flooding treatment can reduce soil-available Cd and the Cd content in various organs of rice with 6.58%-30.01% reduction in soil available-Cd and 12.64%-68.68% reduction in Cd content in brown rice, respectively. The Cd reduction decreased in the following order:comprehensive treatment (T6) > basic application of gypsum powder (T5) > base Xiangrunbang state soil conditioner (T3) > mineral silicon fertilizer and spray foliar fertilizer (T4) > flood treatment (T2). In addition, the average value of the reduction effect of the Cd content in brown rice was calculated. The five treatments in the experiment reduced the enrichment of various parts of the rice, which is a main reason for the decrease in Cd content in the brown rice. According to the field plot test, the combined application of the basic conditioning agent, mineral silicon fertilizer, and sprayed foliar fertilizer, and gypsum powder and flooding measures can be used as an effective method for Cd pollution control in Cd-contaminated cultivated rice.

[Major Factors Influencing the Cd Content and Seasonal Dynamics in Different Land Cover Soils in a Typical Acid Rain Region].

Understanding the seasonal variations in active heavy metal components and sensitive impact factors is of importance for the ecological risk reduction during the agricultural production processes. Paddy fields, vegetable lands, and hilly forests were selected as three main land cover types to assess the seasonal characteristics of Cd bioavailability and reveal how or to what extent it was affected by the physiochemical parameters of soils, under different land-use types in a typical Cd-contaminated watershed in the middle and lower reaches of Xiangjiang River. One-year in situ monitoring results showed that natural rainfall pH in winter and spring was lower than in summer and autumn in the study region. The total Cd content of paddy soils was significantly higher than that of the vegetable soil, while the hilly forest soil showed the lowest total Cd value. Similar seasonal variations in total Cd content were found in three soil types with slightly lower summer and autumn concentrations than spring and winter values, but no obvious correlation was detected between the total and the available Cd components. The paddy soil available Cd concentration during the 5-9-month crop growth season was significantly lower than the other months of the year, while vegetable cultivation and hilly forest soils showed the opposite trend. Eh was the key factor that had a positive influence on the Cd activity in paddy soil. Soil TOC concentration was negatively correlated with soil activity in vegetable soil. TOC, water soluble organic carbon, showed a significant positive correlation with Cd effectiveness. The results provide scientific references for Cd contamination control and safe agricultural production.

[Cd Runoff Load and Soil Profile Movement After Implementation of Some Typical Contaminated Agricultural Soil Remediation Strategies].

Owing to the strong ability to immobilize and hyperaccumulate some toxic heavy metals in contaminated soils, the biochar, lime and such as hyperaccumulator ramie received increasing interests from crops and environment safety in recent years. Outdoor pot experiment was conducted to compare the impacts of lime and biochar addition in paddy rice treatment, hyperaccumulator ramie and ramie combined with EDTA of plant Phytoremediation methods on soil available Cd dynamics in rainfall runoff and the mobility along soil profile, under both natural acid precipitation and acid soil conditions. The results showed that, biochar addition at a 2% mass ratio application amount significantly increased soil pH, while ramie with EDTA application obviously decreased soil pH compared to ramie monoculture. Within the same rainfall events, water soluble Cd concentration in surface runoff of ramie treatments was significantly higher than those of waterlogged rice treatments, and Cd concentration in runoff was obviously increased after EDTA addition, whereas lime at a 0.3% mass ratio application amount as additive had no obvious impact on soil pH and Cd speciation change, which may be due to the low application amount. During the whole experimental period , water soluble Cd concentration of rainfall runoff in spring was higher than that in summer, showing the same seasonal characteristics in all treatments. Biochar addition could significantly decrease available Cd content in 0-20 cm soil layer and with certain preferable persistency effects, whereas EDTA addition treatment obviously increased available Cd of 0-20 cm soil layer compared to other treatments, and obvious Cd element activation phenomenon in 20-40 cm soil layer was observed after EDTA addition. In conclusion, lime and biochar as environmental and friendly alkaline Cd immobilization materials showed lower environment risk to surface and ground receiving water, but attention should be paid to phytoremediation enhanced with EDTA or other organic acid before promotion and field application for heavy metals removal from contaminated soils.

[Non-point loads of soluble cadmium by in situ field experiment with different landuses, in central Hunan province mining area].

Non-point source loads of heavy metals from contaminated soil has increasingly become the major cause of heavy metal concentrations of rivers and lakes surpassed the limitation value, while only few studies had focused on quantitative monitoring of soil heavy metal transportation to water, in situ field conditions. As reported, agricultural farmland heavy metal contamination was the major contamination problem, especially for cadmium (Cd) pollution in middle and downstream of Xiangjiang River. This study selected the typical Cd polluted agricultural watershed for a case study, three typical landuse types of rice, dry farmland and unused grassland with three replicate quadrates were carried out for natural rainfall runoff hydrology processes monitoring, from 2011-2012. Results showed that, precipitation pH value increased from spring to summer, soluble Cd concentration of spring runoff was significantly higher than that of summer rainfall runoff, which presented an obviously seasonal heterogeneity and had a negative correlation with rainfall pH value, and rainfall pH value can obviously impact soil soluble Cd transportation into surface runoff charge. In the same rainfall event, soluble Cd concentration and non-point load of rice were significantly lower than those of dry land and unused grassland, while no obviously seasonal trend was found for non-point load of Cd from three typical landuse types because of the rainfall depth variance, which needs more researches and concerns in the future. These results can provide valuable data and scientific supports for watershed scale's heavy metal non-point source load quantitative estimation and water environment management and water quality diagnosis and early warning.