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Elevated root retention of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in coniferous trees

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Abstract

For decades, the explosive RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) has been used for military and industrial applications. Residues of RDX pollute soils in large areas globally and the persistence and high soil mobility of these residues can lead to leaching into groundwater. Dendroremediation, i.e. the long-term use of trees to clean up polluted soils, is gaining acceptance as a green and sustainable strategy. Although the coniferous tree species Norway spruce and Scots pine cover large areas of military land in Central Europe, the potential of any coniferous tree for dendroremediation of RDX is still unknown. In this study, uptake experiments with a 14C-labelled RDX solution (30 mg L−1) revealed that RDX was predominantly retained in the roots of 6-year-old coniferous trees. Only 23 % (pine) to 34 % (spruce) of RDX equivalents (RDXeq) taken up by the roots were translocated to aboveground tree compartments. This finding contrasts with the high aerial accumulation of RDXeq (up to 95 %) in the mass balances of all other plant species. Belowground retention of RDXeq is relatively stable in fine root fractions, since water leaching from tissue homogenates was less than 5 %. However, remobilisation from milled coarse roots and tree stubs reached up to 53 %. Leaching from homogenised aerial tree material was found to reach 64 % for needles, 58 % for stems and twigs and 40 % for spring sprouts. Leaching of RDX by precipitation increases the risk for undesired re-entry into the soil. However, it also opens the opportunity for microbial mineralisation in the litter layer or in the rhizosphere of coniferous forests and offers a chance for repeated uptake of RDX by the tree roots.

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Abbreviations

DM:

Dry matter; dry mass

LC-MS/MS:

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

LSC:

Liquid scintillation counting

PET:

Polyethylene

RDX:

Research Department Explosive; Royal Demolition Explosive

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for granting the present work within the project PE213/6-1. Thanks are due to all colleagues of the Julius Kühn-Institut for excellent collaboration and use of the radioanalytical equipment. Special thanks are due to Sandra Combrinck and Robert McCrindle (TUT, Pretoria, South Africa) for critical editing of the English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop and Animal Sciences, Section Phytomedicine, Humboldt University Berlin, Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Lentzeallee 55/57, D-14195, Berlin, Germany

    Bernd Schoenmuth, Jakob O. Mueller, Tanja Scharnhorst, Carmen Büttner & Wilfried Pestemer

  2. Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Ecological Chemistry, Plant Analysis and Stored Product Protection, Königin-Luise-Str. 19, D-14195, Berlin, Germany

    Detlef Schenke

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  1. Bernd Schoenmuth
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  2. Jakob O. Mueller
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  3. Tanja Scharnhorst
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  4. Detlef Schenke
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  5. Carmen Büttner
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Correspondence to Bernd Schoenmuth.

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Schoenmuth, B., Mueller, J.O., Scharnhorst, T. et al. Elevated root retention of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in coniferous trees. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 3733–3743 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2306-5

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