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Phytotoxicity of Long-Term Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soil—A Comparative and Combined Approach

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Abstract

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination of soil is an emerging environmental threat on the Earth due to possible toxic impact on different ecological receptors. The present study was mainly carried out to evaluate the phytotoxicity of long-term total petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils by the toxicity end points obtained from three plant species Zea mays, Lactuca sativa L., and Cucumis sativus. The tested soil exerted phytotoxicity for all the evaluated end points of plants with dose-dependent relationship. The determined IC50 indicates inhibition in root elongation as the most sensitive toxicity end point for L. sativa L., while inhibition in cross-section area of meristematic zone as the most susceptible and inhibition in seed germination as the least susceptible end points for both Z. mays and C. sativus. The tested root morphometric parameters confirm their applicability as novel toxicity end points. In addition, microcalorimetric analysis confirmed the applicability of inhibition in metabolic heat emission rate as a toxicity end point. Microcalorimetry can be applied to determine the exerted phytotoxic effect on seedlings. The present combined approach concludes that the phytotoxicity of the tested soil is species-specific and varies as follows: Z. mays < C. sativus < L. sativa L. The findings of this study may have implications in planning comprehensive phytotoxicity assessment for hydrocarbon-contaminated soils or screening plant species for phytoremediation program.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported in part by grants from the National Outstanding Youth Research Foundation of China (40925010), International Joint Key Project from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40920134003), International Joint Key Project from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (2010DFA12780 and 2009DFA92830), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41273092). KM acknowledges the receipt of a Chinese Government Scholarship from the Chinese Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and National “International Cooperation Based on Environment and Energy”, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 100083, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Kanaji Masakorala, Jun Yao, Huan Guo, Radhika Chandankere, Jingwei Wang, Minmin Cai & Haijun Liu

  2. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Ruhuna, Matara,, Sri Lanka

    Kanaji Masakorala

  3. State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology and Sino-Hungarian Joint Laboratory of Environmental Science and Health, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Yao

  4. Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, 224 Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China

    Martin M. F. Choi

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  1. Kanaji Masakorala
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  2. Jun Yao
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  3. Huan Guo
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  4. Radhika Chandankere
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  6. Minmin Cai
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  7. Haijun Liu
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Correspondence to Jun Yao or Martin M. F. Choi.

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Masakorala, K., Yao, J., Guo, H. et al. Phytotoxicity of Long-Term Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soil—A Comparative and Combined Approach. Water Air Soil Pollut 224, 1553 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1553-x

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