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Modeling the transfer of arsenic from soil to carrot (Daucus carota L.)—a greenhouse and field-based study

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Abstract

Reliable empirical models describing arsenic (As) transfer in soil-plant systems are needed to estimate the human As burden from dietary intake. A greenhouse experiment was conducted in parallel with a field trial located at three sites through China to develop and validate soil-plant transfer models to predict As concentrations in carrot (Daucus carota L.). Stepwise multiple linear regression relationships were based on soil properties and the pseudo total (aqua regia) or available (0.5 M NaHCO3) soil As fractions. Carrot As contents were best predicted by the pseudo total soil As concentrations in combination with soil pH and Fe oxide, with the percentage of variation explained being up to 70 %. The constructed prediction model was further validated and improved to avoid overprotection using data from the field trial. The final obtained model is of great practical relevance to the prediction of As uptake under field conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was jointly sponsored by the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research Program in the Public Interest (No. 200903015) and the GanPo 555 Talents Program of Jiangxi Province, China. The authors wish to thank Prof. Chao Gao and Weidong Wu for their help in the field trials and Ya Liu for her assistance in providing Fig. 1.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Compliance with ethical standards

The present research did not involve human participants and/or animals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Changfeng Ding, Fen Zhou, Xiaogang Li, Taolin Zhang & Xingxiang Wang

  2. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Ecological Research of Red Soil, Ecological Experimental Station of Red Soil, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yingtan, 335211, China

    Xingxiang Wang

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  1. Changfeng Ding
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  2. Fen Zhou
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  4. Taolin Zhang
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Correspondence to Xingxiang Wang.

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Responsible editor: Michael Matthies

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Ding, C., Zhou, F., Li, X. et al. Modeling the transfer of arsenic from soil to carrot (Daucus carota L.)—a greenhouse and field-based study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 10627–10635 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4255-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4255-7

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