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The rhizospheric transformation and bioavailability of mercury in pepper plants are influenced by selected Chinese soil types

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Abstract

Understanding and prediction of mercury (Hg) phytoavailability in vegetable–soil systems is essential for controlling food chain contamination and safe vegetable production as Hg-contaminated soils pose a serious threat to human health. In this study, four typical Chinese soils (Heilongjiang, Chongqing, Yunnan, and Jilin) with varied physicochemical properties were spiked with HgCl2 to grow sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) in a pot experiment under greenhouse condition. The chemical fractionation revealed a significant decrease in exchangeable Hg, while an increase in organically bound Hg in the rhizosphere soil (RS) compared to bulk soil (BS). This observation strongly highlights the vital role of organic matter on the rhizospheric Hg transformation irrespective of contamination levels and soil properties. Stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) analysis between Hg concentration in plants, Hg fractions in RS and BS, and soil properties showed that Hg in plant parts was significantly influenced by soil total Hg (THg) (R2 = 0.90), soil clay (R2 = 0.99), amorphous manganese oxides (amorphous Mn) (R2 = 0.97), amorphous iron oxides (amorphous Fe) (R2 = 0.70), and available Hg (R2 = 0.97) in BS. Nevertheless, in the case of RS, Hg accumulation in plants was affected by soil THg (R2 = 0.99), amorphous Mn (R2 = 0.97), amorphous Fe oxides (R2 = 0.66), soil pH, and organically bound Hg fraction (R2 = 0.96). Among all the evaluated soils (n = 04), metal (mercury) concentration in terms of plant uptake was reported highest in the Jilin soil. Based on SMLR analysis, the results suggested that the phytoavailability of Hg was mainly determined by THg and metal oxides regardless of the rhizospheric effect. These findings facilitate the estimation of Hg phytoavailability and ecological risk that may exist from Hg-contaminated areas where pepper is the dominant vegetable.

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Funding

This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0800401) and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (2016–2022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Sajjad Hussain, Yang Jianjun, Peiman Zandi,  Subhanullah, Xia Xing, Zhang Liandong & Tian Yu

  2. School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Sajjad Hussain & Zhang Kebin

  3. Key Laboratory of Argo-Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yang Jianjun

  4. College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Amjad Ali

  5. Adaptive Research Farm, Karor Lal Esan, Punjab, Pakistan

    Jamshad Hussain

  6. International Faculty of Applied Technology, Yibin University, Yibin, 644000, China

    Peiman Zandi

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  1. Sajjad Hussain
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  2. Yang Jianjun
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  3. Jamshad Hussain
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Contributions

YJ designed the study; SH performed the experiments and drafted the manuscript with the input of YJ, PZ, SU, JH, and ZK; ZL, XX, AA, and TY gave technical support and statistical analysis. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yang Jianjun.

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Hussain, S., Jianjun, Y., Hussain, J. et al. The rhizospheric transformation and bioavailability of mercury in pepper plants are influenced by selected Chinese soil types. Environ Geochem Health 45, 41–52 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01209-9

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