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Study on adsorption and remediation of heavy metals by poplar and larch in contaminated soil

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Abstract

Introduction

Field experiments at the Shenyang Experimental Station of Ecology were conducted to study the adsorption, accumulation, and remediation of heavy metals by poplar and larch grown in artificially contaminated soil.

Materials and methods

The soil was spiked with a combination of Cd, Cu, and Zn at concentrations of 1.5, 100, and 200 mg·kg−1, respectively.

Results

The results showed that the biomass of poplar (Populus canadensis Moench) was lower by 26.0% in the soil spiked with a mixture of Cd, Cu, and Zn, compared with the control. Concentrations of Cd in poplar leaf and Cu in poplar roots in the treated soil were 4.11 and 14.55 mg kg−1, respectively, which are much greater than in corresponding controls. The migration of heavy metals in woody plant body was in the order Cd > Zn > Cu. Poplar had higher metal concentrations in aboveground tissues and a higher biomass compared with larch of the same age and therefore is potentially more suitable for remediation. In the heavy metal-polluted soil of this study, phytoremediation by poplar may take 56 and 245 years for Cd and Cu, respectively, for meeting the soil standards of heavy metals, and the corresponding phytoremediation times by larch would take 211 and 438 years.

Conclusion

The research findings could be used as a basis to develop ecological engineering technologies for environmental control and remediation of pollution caused by heavy metals in soils.

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Acknowledgments

The research presented here was supported by the project “Pollution control for industry effluent liquid and sediment discharge” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and in part supported by the foundation for key laboratory of the Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Many thanks to Dr. Tom McRae in Deakin University, Australia for the English proofreading and editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 417, No 72, Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Xin Wang & Youngfeng Jia

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  1. Xin Wang
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  2. Youngfeng Jia
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Correspondence to Xin Wang.

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Responsible editor: Elena Maestri

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Wang, X., Jia, Y. Study on adsorption and remediation of heavy metals by poplar and larch in contaminated soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 17, 1331–1338 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-010-0313-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-010-0313-3

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