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Effect of soil pH and organic matter content on heavy metals availability in maize (Zea mays L.) rhizospheric soil of non-ferrous metals smelting area

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Abstract

Maize plant tissues and rhizosphere soil were collected from an agricultural area around the Huludao Zinc Plant in Liaoning Province, China, to investigate the effects of soil pH and organic matter content on heavy metal concentration and accumulation in different types of maize tissues. The mean pH of the soil samples was 7.02 (range 5.74–7.86), and the mean organic matter content was 31.03 g kg−1 (range 18.80–52.20 g kg−1). The average Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd contents in soil were 2.92, 6.72, 7.95, and 16.28 times greater than the corresponding background values, respectively. The geo-accumulation index indicated that the soils were uncontaminated to moderately contaminated by Cu, moderately to strongly contaminated by Pb and Zn, and strongly contaminated by Cd. The average available Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cd contents in the soil samples were 16.34, 6.997, 69.77, and 0.190 mg kg−1, respectively, while their bioavailability coefficients were 28.53%, 1.65%, 40.44%, and 10.83%, respectively. The respective mean Pb and Cd concentrations in grain samples were 0.341 and 0.342 mg kg−1, which exceeded the maximum concentrations permitted by the Chinese National Standard. Thus, the maize grain is not safe for consumption and poses potential risks to human health. With the exception of Cu, the combined effect of pH and organic matter content had a stronger influence on the availability of heavy metals in soil compared with either factor alone. Cd uptake in maize plant tissues was affected by the combination of soil pH, organic matter content, and bioavailable Cd content in soil; however, the combination of these three factors had only slight effects on Cu, Zn, and Pb absorption in maize tissues.

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Funding

The authors appreciate the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41722110 and No. 41571474), the Jilin Province Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20170101203JC), and 135 Breading Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology (No. Y6H2081001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northeast Institute of Geography and Agricultural Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 4888 Shengbei Street, Changchun, 130102, Jilin, China

    Shengnan Hou, Na Zheng, Lin Tang, Xiaofeng Ji & Yunyang Li

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Shengnan Hou & Xiaofeng Ji

  3. Key Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment of the Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Resources, Jilin University, Changchun, China

    Na Zheng, Lin Tang & Yunyang Li

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  1. Shengnan Hou
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Correspondence to Na Zheng.

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Hou, S., Zheng, N., Tang, L. et al. Effect of soil pH and organic matter content on heavy metals availability in maize (Zea mays L.) rhizospheric soil of non-ferrous metals smelting area. Environ Monit Assess 191, 634 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7793-5

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