Abstract
Intercropping of specific accumulators with industrial crops is used in moderately metal contaminated agricultural land. The distribution characteristics and environmental risks of non-accumulated ions in intercropping fields have rarely been reported. This study analyzed dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractionation and metal chemical forms to investigate the bioavailability, transformation, and uptake of non-hyperaccumulated metals in different cultivation patterns of a Cd hyperaccumulator (Sedum alfredii Hance) and a commercial crop (Cicer arietinum L.). The study focused on the distribution and transformation of heavy metals, with a particular emphasis on the role of DOM in intercropping. The contents of DOM in the rhizosphere soils of the Cd hyperaccumulator monoculture and the intercropping field were obviously greater than the DOM concentration in the commercial crop monoculture. The content of soluble Cd was significantly lower in the former two planting patterns than in the latter. In contrast, soluble Pb and Cu exhibited opposite content characteristics. In addition, the metal extraction ability of DOM extracted from the C. arietinum monoculture was lower than those from the Cd hyperaccumulator monoculture and the intercropping field. The concentrations of Cd in both below-ground and aerial parts of C. arietinum intercropping were significantly lower than those in its monoculture, since S. alfredii depleted soil Cd. Contrastingly, the contents of Cu and Pb in C. arietinum harvested from intercropping were significantly greater than those in its monoculture because the intercropped Cd hyperaccumulator activated Cu and Pb by changing soil DOM content and fractionations without absorbing them. The findings provide valuable insights into the use of intercropping to remediate moderately metal-contaminated agricultural land and highlight the potential risks associated with intercropping in multi-metal-contaminated fields.
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The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
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The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 21876014) for financial support to carry out this study.
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Hongwei He: formal analysis, investigation, and writing—original draft; Yifan Jia: formal analysis and writing—original draft; Ruyi Li: investigation and writing—original draft; Pan Yang: formal analysis; Min Cao: writing—review and editing; Jie Luo: conceptualization, methodology, validation, writing—review and editing, supervision, and funding acquisition.
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He, ., Jia, Y., Li, R. et al. Intercropping Sedum alfredii Hance and Cicer arietinum L. does not present a suitable land use pattern for multi-metal-polluted soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 89616–89626 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28756-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28756-7