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Effect of peat on the accumulation and translocation of heavy metals by maize grown in contaminated soils

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Abstract

Incorporation of organic materials into soil improves the soil sorption capacity, while limiting the mobility of metals in soil and their availability to plants. These effects can be taken advantage for remediation of soils polluted with heavy metals. The objective of this study is to assess the remediatory potential of peat applied to soils with concomitant pollution with Cd, Pb, and Zn. Two 1-year experiments were run in microplots in which maize was grown as the test plant. The following treatments were compared on two soils (sandy soil and loess): (1) control, (2) heavy metals (HM), (3) HM + peat in a single dose, and (4) HM + peat in a double dose. Maize was harvested in the maturity stage; the biomass of roots and aerial parts, including grain and cobs, was measured. Besides, concentration of metals in all those plant parts and the net photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate were determined. The approach of using peat in soil remediation led to satisfactory results on sandy soil only. The application of peat to sandy soil caused significant changes in the accumulation of the metals and their translocation from roots to other parts of plants, which resulted in a higher intensity of photosynthesis and an increase in the maize biomass compared to the HM treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The work has been prepared as a part of 2.6 Long-term Program (funded by the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) in the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Weed Science and Soil Tillage Systems in Wroclaw, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute in Pulawy, Orzechowa 61, 50-540 Wroclaw, Poland

    Ewa Stanislawska-Glubiak & Jolanta Korzeniowska

  2. Department of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute in Pulawy, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland

    Anna Kocon

Authors
  1. Ewa Stanislawska-Glubiak
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  2. Jolanta Korzeniowska
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  3. Anna Kocon
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Correspondence to Ewa Stanislawska-Glubiak.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Stanislawska-Glubiak, E., Korzeniowska, J. & Kocon, A. Effect of peat on the accumulation and translocation of heavy metals by maize grown in contaminated soils. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 4706–4714 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3706-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3706-x

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