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Compost application affects metal uptake in plants grown in urban garden soils and potential human health risk

  • SOILS, SEC 5 • SOIL AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY • RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the effect of varying organic matter content on the potential human health risk of consuming vegetables grown in urban garden soils.

Materials and methods

Metal accumulation among edible tissues of green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), and carrot (Daucus carota L.) was determined for plants grown in five urban garden soils amended with 0%, 9%, or 25% (v/v) compost. Potential risk to human health was assessed by calculating a bioconcentration factor and a hazard quotient.

Results and discussion

Overall, the consumption of lettuce and green bean pods grown in some urban gardens posed a potential human health risk due to unacceptably high concentrations of cadmium or lead. In many cases, compost amendment increased the accumulation of metals in the vegetables. Even in soils considered uncontaminated by current guidelines, some hazard quotients exceeded the threshold value of 1. The compost used in this study had a high fulvic acid to humic acid ratio, which may explain increased concentrations of metals in plants grown in compost-amended soils.

Conclusions

These results indicate a need to include soil characteristics, specifically organic matter quality, when setting threshold criteria for metal content of urban garden soils.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant Program, the Canadian NSERC Metals in the Human Environment (MITHE) Strategic Network (a full list of sponsors is available at www.mithe-sn.org), and the Western Graduate Thesis Research Award. Many thanks go to Mr. Jim Galbraith from the University of Western Ontario (UWO) Physical Plant for supplying compost, the Biotron Research Facility at UWO for ICP-OES analyses, and the Catchment Research Facility at UWO for DOC analyses.

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  1. Hollydawn Murray

    Present address: The National University of Ireland Galway, Earth and Ocean Science, University Road, Galway, Ireland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada

    Hollydawn Murray, Trevor A. Pinchin & Sheila M. Macfie

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  1. Hollydawn Murray
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  2. Trevor A. Pinchin
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Correspondence to Sheila M. Macfie.

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Responsible editor: Winfried Schröder

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Murray, H., Pinchin, T.A. & Macfie, S.M. Compost application affects metal uptake in plants grown in urban garden soils and potential human health risk. J Soils Sediments 11, 815–829 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0359-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0359-y

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