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Transport and Assimilation of Ferricyanide by Three Willow Species

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Abstract

Uptake, bioaccumulation, and assimilation of ferricyanide by three different species of willows was investigated. Intact prerooted weeping willows (Salix babylonica L.), Hankow willows (Salix matsudana Koidz), and hybrid willows (S. matsudana Koidz × alba L.) were grown hydroponically and treated with ferricyanide at 25.0 ± 0.5 °C for 144 h. Willows without leaves were also investigated as a treatment to quantify effect of transpiration on transport and assimilation of ferricyanide. Dissociation of ferricyanide to free cyanide in solution in absence of light was negligible. Phytotransport of ferricyanide was apparent. The phytoremoval rate of ferricyanide obtained varied with willow species (p < 0.05). Remarkable decreases in the removal rate were detected with the trees without leaves compared with the intact trees (p < 0.01). Due to small amounts of the applied ferricyanide recovered in plant materials, ferricyanide removed from the hydroponic solution was largely assimilated by plants. Transpiration stream concentration factor (TSCF) was also estimated using the content of iron (Fe). These information suggests that phytodegradation is a major process involved in botanical assimilation of ferricyanide through an undefined degradation pathway.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC: 40971256).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 41028, People’s Republic of China

    Fu-Zhong Zhang, Xiao-Zhang Yu & Ji-Dong Gu

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  1. Fu-Zhong Zhang
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  2. Xiao-Zhang Yu
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Correspondence to Xiao-Zhang Yu.

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Zhang, FZ., Yu, XZ. & Gu, JD. Transport and Assimilation of Ferricyanide by Three Willow Species. Water Air Soil Pollut 224, 1522 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1522-4

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