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Bioremediation of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon–contaminated urban soil: degradation dynamics and phytotransformation pathways

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Bioremediation experiments of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) using ryegrass (Lolium perenne), a turfgrass in urban landscapes, were carried out aiming to explore the ryegrass-assisted degradation in an actual PAH-contaminated urban soil and the phytotransformation pathways of PAHs within plants.

Methods

Dynamics of plant-assisted degradation of 15 PAHs in pot soils were recorded over 100-day cultivation, and at the end, the accumulation of PAHs in ryegrass was investigated. Ryegrass with phenanthrene exposure was cultured hydroponically to investigate the phytotransformation intermediates using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Results

Overall, dissipation of PAHs in soils exhibited an initial fast and subsequent slow degradation pattern. Eventually, on average, 55.7% and 47.1% of \(\sum {PAHs}\) were removed in the planted and unplanted soils, respectively, with the high-molecular-weight PAHs highly eliminated particularly. Plant growth resulted in 4.8–11.1% more \(\sum {PAHs}\) removed from soil compared to the plant-free controls. The PAHs all exhibited the bioconcentration and translocation factors below 1. The mass balance calculation showed that plant uptake accounted for < 1% of the dissipation increase while plant-promoted microbial biodegradation made the dominant contribution. A total of 7 metabolites were tentatively identified based on which possible transformation pathways were proposed.

Conclusion

The results indicated that ryegrass may act as a metabolic sink for aqueous PAHs while microbes play a dominant role in soil PAH dissipation via biodegradation. The results may pave the path for a scientific, safe, and effective implementation of landscape configuration to ameliorate urban soil pollution.

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Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 41907094) and the Shanghai Pujiang Program (grant number: 19PJ1405500).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Landscape Architecture, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Li Ma, Lei Yao & Yuhong Li

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  1. Li Ma
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  2. Lei Yao
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  3. Yuhong Li
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Contributions

Li Ma: conceptualization, methodology, writing—original draft, investigation. Lei Yao: methodology, resources. Yuhong Li: Project administration.

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Correspondence to Li Ma.

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Responsible editor: Yanzheng Gao

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Ma, L., Yao, L. & Li, Y. Bioremediation of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon–contaminated urban soil: degradation dynamics and phytotransformation pathways. J Soils Sediments 22, 797–808 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-021-03108-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-021-03108-5

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