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The effects of low-dose biochar amendments on arsenic accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

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Abstract

The accumulation of arsenic (As) in rice is one of the food security-related concerns in As-contaminated areas all over the world. Biochar, a potential green and cost-efficient amendment material, affects As mobility/phytoavailability in soil and As accumulation in rice plants to some extent, which remains unclear. Thus, three different biochars derived from rice straw, corn stalks, and bamboo were used to investigate the impacts of biochar amendments on As mobility/phytoavailability in As-contaminated soil using pot and microcosm experiments. The results showed a limited reduction (by 12–16%) in As accumulation in rice grains under a low-dose (0.5%, w/w) biochar amendment, although the three biochars displayed different physicochemical properties. In addition, the biochar amendments did not significantly decrease the As levels in the straw and roots, potentially because of the small changes in As mobility/phytoavailability in amended soil relative to the control. However, As levels in soil solution in the biochar treatment groups increased substantially, by 2.8–6.6 times, with increasing biochar doses (0.5–5%, w/w) in microcosm-based anaerobic incubation experiments, particularly at higher doses (3–5%, w/w). These results could be attributed to the biochar-enhancing activity of As(V)-/Fe(III)-reducing bacteria at a high biochar application rate. Our results suggested that applying high biochar doses may increase the release of As into the soil, resulting in As accumulation in rice plants. Therefore, to mitigate the health risk of As in As-contaminated paddy soils, the remediation technologies from biochar methods should be subjected to more evaluation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Yongjun Xue for his help with the rice plant management. Financial support for this study was provided by the Natural Science Project of Department of Education Anhui Province (KJ2019A1048) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41771508).

Funding

This study was funded by Natural Science Project of Department of Education Anhui Province (KJ2019A1048) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41771508).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anhui Technical College of Industry and Economy, Hefei, 230051, People’s Republic of China

    Da Lv

  2. Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Dongchuan Road 500, Shanghai, 200241, People’s Republic of China

    Zhigang Wang, Yafei Sun, Wenjia Jin, Yongjie Wang, Limin Zhou & Xiangmin Zheng

  3. Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, People’s Republic of China

    Yongjie Wang & Limin Zhou

Authors
  1. Da Lv
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  2. Zhigang Wang
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  3. Yafei Sun
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  4. Wenjia Jin
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  5. Yongjie Wang
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  6. Limin Zhou
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  7. Xiangmin Zheng
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Yoingjie Wang and Limin Zhou; Methodology: Da Lv, Yoingjie Wang; Formal analysis and investigation: Da Lv, Zhigang Wang, Yafei Sun, Wenjia Jin, and Yongjie Wang; Writing—original draft preparation: Da Lv and Yoingjie Wang; Writing—review and editing: Limin Zhou, Xiangmin Zheng; Funding acquisition: Da Lv, Yoingjie Wang; Resources: Yoingjie Wang; Supervision: Xiangmin Zheng. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yongjie Wang or Xiangmin Zheng.

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Responsible editor: Zhihong Xu

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Lv, D., Wang, Z., Sun, Y. et al. The effects of low-dose biochar amendments on arsenic accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 13495–13503 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11572-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11572-8

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