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Biochar-assisted phytoextraction of arsenic in soil using Pteris vittata L

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Abstract

The alkaline nature of biochar provides a potential for soil arsenic (As) mobilization and, hence, enhancing efficiency of As phytoextraction by combining with As hyperaccumulator. To testify the feasibility and potential risk of the above strategy, biochar effect on As transfer in a paddy soil and accumulation in P. vittata was investigated in a pot experiment. By leaching soil (total As concentration 141.17 mg/kg) with simulated acid rain (pH 4.2), As the concentration in leaching eluate increased proportionally with increasing biochar ratio. Coincident with elevated soil As mobility, apparent enhancement in As uptake and translocation in P. vittata was determined with 1–5% biochar amendment after 40 days of plant growth. Furthermore, diffusive gradients in thin film (DGT) technique were employed to characterize any potential risk in vertical downward migration of As at 2-mm resolution. A significantly increasing profile of DGT-As ranging from on average 20 μg/L in CK to 50–100 μg/L in 1–3% biochar treatments was recorded over 0–60 mm depth, with 25–71% lower labile As in the rhizosphere than non-rhizosphere zone with few exceptions. As compared to Chinese quality standard for groundwater (Class IV 50 μg/L), biochar ratio at ≤ 1% was suggested for local water safety while actual application should take the physicochemical characteristic of tested soil into account. Our results demonstrated the biochar-assisted P. vittata phytoremediation can serve as an emerging pathway to enhance efficiency of soil As phytoextraction. The combination of DGT techniques and greenhouse assay provided a powerful tool for evaluating the gradient distribution of heavy metal in rhizosphere and accessing corresponding ecological risk at more precise scale.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.41977108), Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation for Young Teachers in Higher Education Institutions of China (No.151029), Hunan Young Talents Supporting Program (2017RS3032), and Cultivation Program for National Excellent Youth Science Foundation of Hunan Normal University (XP4180201).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, People’s Republic of China

    Chujing Zheng, Xin Wang & Jing Liu

  2. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, People’s Republic of China

    Chujing Zheng

  3. School of Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Liu

  4. Hunan Institute of Agro-Environment and Ecology, Changsha, 410125, People’s Republic of China

    Xionghui Ji

  5. Key Lab of Prevention, Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Metal Pollution in Hunan Province, Changsha, 410125, People’s Republic of China

    Xionghui Ji

  6. Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in Midstream of Yangtze Plain, Ministry of Agriculture, Changsha, 410125, People’s Republic of China

    Xionghui Ji

  7. Center for Foreign Economic & Technical Cooperation in Agriculture Department of Hunan Province, Changsha, 410006, People’s Republic of China

    Bojun Huang

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  1. Chujing Zheng
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  2. Xin Wang
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Correspondence to Xin Wang or Xionghui Ji.

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Zheng, C., Wang, X., Liu, J. et al. Biochar-assisted phytoextraction of arsenic in soil using Pteris vittata L. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 36688–36697 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06688-5

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