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Phytoremediation of strontium contaminated soil by Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench and soil microbial community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs)

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Abstract

Phytoremediation of strontium contaminated soil by Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench was investigated, and the soil microbial community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs) were examined. The growth and the stable strontium (88Sr) accumulations of the energy crop S. bicolor grown on the Sr-spiked soil at the level of 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg soil were characterized through pot soil system after the entire growth period (140 days). Correspondingly, the available content of strontium in soil extracted by Mehlich III extraction solution reached 42.0, 71.9, 151.8, and 242.2 mg/kg, respectively. The Sr-polluted soil microbial community was assessed by a Biolog Eco-plate method. The results showed that the spiked Sr significantly increased the height and the stem biomass weight of the plant. Sr contents in roots, stems, and leaves of the sorghum increased linearly (R 2 > 0.95) with the elevation of the Sr-spiked level in soil. The average Sr concentration in roots, stems, and leaves reached 68.9, 61.3, and 132.6 mg/kg dry weight (DW) under Sr-spiked 400 mg/kg soil, respectively. Sr content in tissues decreased in the order of leaves > roots > stems. The bioconcentration factor (BCF; Sr contents in shoots to soil) values of S. bicolor in soil system was lower than 1 (0.21∼0.39) whether based on the spiked Sr level or on the available Sr level in soil. The transfer factor (TF; Sr contents in shoots to roots) values of S. bicolor in soil system usually is higher than 1 or near to 1 (0.92∼1.29). TF values increased while BCF values decreased as the soil Sr increased. The Biolog Eco-plate assay showed that Sr at the spiked level of 400 mg/kg soil enhanced the soil microbial diversity and activity.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT-13026) and the National S&T Major Project (2013ZX06002001). The authors would also like to thank the financial support provided by the Open Research Fund Program of Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety, Ministry of Education of China, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51338005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Xu Wang, Can Chen & Jianlong Wang

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Radioactive Waste Treatment, INET, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Jianlong Wang

  3. Energy Science Building, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Jianlong Wang

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  1. Xu Wang
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  2. Can Chen
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Correspondence to Jianlong Wang.

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Wang, X., Chen, C. & Wang, J. Phytoremediation of strontium contaminated soil by Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench and soil microbial community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs). Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 7668–7678 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8432-8

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