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Impact of temperature on the dynamics of organic matter and on the soil-to-plant transfer of Cd, Zn and Pb in a contaminated agricultural soil

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Abstract

Predicting the soil-to-plant transfer of metals in the context of global warming has become a major issue for food safety. It requires a better understanding of how the temperature alters the bioavailability of metals in cultivated soils. This study focuses on one agricultural soil contaminated by Cd, Zn and Pb. DGT measurements were performed at 10, 20 and 30 °C to assess how the bioavailability of metals was affected by a rise in soil temperature. A lettuce crop was cultivated in the same conditions to determine if the soil-to-plant transfer of metals increased with a rise in soil temperature. A gradual decline in Cd and Zn bioavailability was observed from 10 to 30 °C, which was attributed to more intense complexation of metals in the pore water at higher temperatures. Together with its aromaticity, the affinity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) for metals was indeed suspected to increase with soil temperature. One main output of the present work is a model which satisfactorily explains the thermal-induced changes in the characteristics of DOM reported in Cornu et al. (Geoderma 162:65–70, 2011) by assuming that the mineralization of initial aliphatic compounds followed a first-order reaction, increased with soil temperature according to the Arrhenius law, and due to a priming effect, led to the appearance of aromatic molecules. The soil-to-plant transfer of Cd and Zn was promoted at higher soil temperatures despite a parallel decrease in Cd and Zn bioavailability. This suggests that plant processes affect the soil-to-plant transfer of Cd and Zn the most when the soil temperature rises.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Sylvie Bussière, Cécile Fontaine, Alain Vives and Stéphane Thunot for their technical assistance. Financial support of this work was provided by the region Aquitaine (France) and the ToxNucE programme (CEA-CNRS-INRA-INSERM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UMR 1391 ISPA, F-33140, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    Jean-Yves Cornu, L. Denaix, J. Lacoste, V. Sappin-Didier, C. Nguyen & A. Schneider

  2. Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR 1391 ISPA, 33170, Gradignan, France

    Jean-Yves Cornu, L. Denaix, J. Lacoste, V. Sappin-Didier, C. Nguyen & A. Schneider

Authors
  1. Jean-Yves Cornu
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  2. L. Denaix
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  3. J. Lacoste
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  4. V. Sappin-Didier
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  5. C. Nguyen
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  6. A. Schneider
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Correspondence to Jean-Yves Cornu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Cornu, JY., Denaix, L., Lacoste, J. et al. Impact of temperature on the dynamics of organic matter and on the soil-to-plant transfer of Cd, Zn and Pb in a contaminated agricultural soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 2997–3007 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5432-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5432-4

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