Abstract
Purpose
Serpentine soils derived from ultramafic rocks release elevated concentrations of toxic heavy metals into the environment. Hence, crop plants cultivated in or adjacent to serpentine soil may experience reduced growth due to phytotoxicity as well as accumulate toxic heavy metals in edible tissues. We investigated the potential of biochar (BC), a waste byproduct of bioenergy industry in Sri Lanka, as a soil amendment to immobilize Ni, Cr, and Mn in serpentine soil and minimize their phytotoxicity.
Materials and methods
The BC used in this study was a waste byproduct obtained from a Dendro bioenergy industry in Sri Lanka. This BC was produced by pyrolyzing Gliricidia sepium biomass at 900 °C in a closed reactor. A pot experiment was conducted using tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) by adding 1, 2.5, and 5 % (w/w) BC applications to evaluate the bioavailability and uptake of metals in serpentine soil. Sequential extractions were utilized to evaluate the effects of BC on bioavailable concentrations of Ni, Cr, and Mn as well as different metal fractionations in BC-amended and BC-unamended soil. Postharvest soil in each pot was subjected to a microbial analysis to evaluate the total bacterial and fungal count in BC-amended and BC-unamended serpentine soil.
Results and discussion
Tomato plants grown in 5 % BC-amended soil showed approximately 40-fold higher biomass than that of BC-unamended soil, whereas highly favorable microbial growth was observed in the 2.5 % BC-amended soil. Bioaccumulation of Cr, Ni, and Mn decreased by 93–97 % in tomato plants grown in 5 % BC-amended soil compared to the BC-unamended soil. Sequentially extracted metals in the exchangeable fraction revealed that the bioavailabile concentrations of Cr, Ni, and Mn decreased by 99, 61, and 42 %, respectively, in the 5 % BC-amended soil.
Conclusions
Results suggested that the addition of BC to serpentine soil as a soil amendment immobilizes Cr, Ni, and Mn in serpentine soil and reduces metal-induced toxicities in tomato plants.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmad M, Lee SS, Dou X, Mohan D, Sung J-K, Yang JE, Ok YS (2012) Effects of pyrolysis temperature on soybean stover-and peanut shell-derived biochar properties and TCE adsorption in water. Bioresour Technol 118:536–544
Ahmad M, Moon DH, Vithanage M, Koutsospyros A, Lee SS, Yang JE et al (2014) Production and use of biochar from buffalo‐weed (Ambrosia trifida L.) for trichloroethylene removal from water. J Chem Technol Biotech 89:150–157
Ahmad M, Rajapaksha AU, Lim JE, Zhang M, Bolan N, Mohan D et al (2013) Biochar as a sorbent for contaminant management in soil and water: a review. Chemosphere 99:19–33
Almaroai YA, Usman AR, Ahmad M, Moon DH, Cho JS, Joo Y et al (2014) Effects of biochar, cow bone, and eggshell on Pb availability to maize in contaminated soil irrigated with saline water. Environ Earth Sci 71:1289–1296
Anderson B, de Peyster A, Gad SC (2005) Encyclopedia of toxicology. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Armienta M, Rodríguez R, Ceniceros N, Juarez F, Cruz O (1996) Distribution, origin and fate of chromium in soils in Guanajuato, Mexico. Environ Pollut 91:391–397
Baugé SMY, Lavkulich LM, Schreier HE (2013) Phosphorus and trace metals in serpentine-affected soils of the Sumas Basin, British Columbia. Can J Soil Sci 93:359–367
Beesley L, Marmiroli M, Pagano L, Pigoni V, Fellet G, Fresno T et al (2013) Biochar addition to an arsenic contaminated soil increases arsenic concentrations in the pore water but reduces uptake to tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Sci Total Environ 454:598–603
Chen B, Zhou D, Zhu L (2008) Transitional adsorption and partition of nonpolar and polar aromatic contaminants by biochars of pine needles with different pyrolytic temperatures. Environ Sci Technol 42:5137–5143
Fernández S, Seoane S, Merino A (1999) Plant heavy metal concentrations and soil biological properties in agricultural serpentine soils. Commun Soil Sci Plan 30:1867–1884
Gall JE, Rajakaruna N (2013) The physiology, functional genomics, and applied ecology of heavy metal-tolerant Brassicaceae. In: Lang M (ed) Brassicaceae: Characterization, Functional Genomics and Health Benefits. Nova, New York, pp 121–148
Ghani A (2011) Effect of chromium toxicity on growth, chlorophyll and some mineral nutrients of Brassica juncea L. Egypt Acad J Biol Sci 2:9–15
Gomez JD, Denef K, Stewart CE, Zheng J & Cotrufo MF (2014) Biochar addition rate influences soil microbial abundance and activity in temperate soils. Eur J Soil Sci 65. doi:10.1111/ejss.12097
Houben D, Evrard L, Sonnet P (2013a) Beneficial effects of biochar application to contaminated soils on the bioavailability of Cd, Pb and Zn and the biomass production of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Biomass Bioenerg 57:196–204
Houben D, Evrard L, Sonnet P (2013b) Mobility, bioavailability and pH-dependent leaching of cadmium, zinc and lead in a contaminated soil amended with biochar. Chemosphere 92:1450–1457
Janice ET, Rillig MC (2009) Characteristics of biochar: biological properties. In: Lehmann J, Joseph S (eds) Biochar for environmental management: science and technology. Earthscan, London, pp 85–102
Jiang W, Liu D, Hou W (2001) Hyperaccumulation of cadmium by roots, bulbs and shoots of garlic (Allium sativum L.). Bioresour Technol 76:9–13
Karami N, Clemente R, Moreno-Jiménez E, Lepp NW, Beesley L (2011) Efficiency of green waste compost and biochar soil amendments for reducing lead and copper mobility and uptake to ryegrass. J Hazard Mater 191:41–48
Kayama M, Sasa K, Koike T (2002) Needle life span, photosynthetic rate and nutrient concentration of Picea glehnii, P. jezoensis and P. abies planted on serpentine soil in northern Japan. Tree Physiol 22:707–716
Khalid BY, Tinsley J (1980) Some effects of nickel toxicity on rye grass. Plant Soil 55:139–144
Mebius LJ (1960) A rapid method for the determination of organic carbon in soil. Anal Chimi Acta 22:120–124
Moral R, Pedreno JN, Gomez I, Mataix J (1995) Effects of chromium on the nutrient element content and morphology of tomato. J Plant Nutr 18:815–822
Mulligan CN, Yong RN, Gibbs BF (2001) Remediation technologies for metal-contaminated soils and groundwater: an evaluation. Eng Geol 60:193–207
Neilson S, Rajakaruna N (2014) Phytoremediation of agricultural soils: using plants to clean metal-contaminated arable lands. In: Ansari AA, Gill SS, Lanza GR (ed) Phytoremediation: management of environmental contaminants. Springer (in press)
O’Dell RE, Rajakaruna N (2011) Intraspecific variation, adaptation, and evolution. In: Harrison SP, Rajakaruna N (eds) Serpentine: evolution and ecology in a model system. University of California Press, California, pp 97–137
Onipe O, Adebayo A (2011) Bacteriological and mineral studies of road side soil samples in Ado-Ekiti metropolis, Nigeria. J Microbiol Biotechn Food Sci 1:247–266
Park JH, Choppala GK, Bolan NS, Chung JW, Chuasavathi T (2011) Biochar reduces the bioavailability and phytotoxicity of heavy metals. Plant Soil 348:439–451
Paz-Ferreiro J, Lu H, Fu S, Méndez A, Gascó G (2013) Use of phytoremediation and biochar to remediate heavy metal polluted soils: a review. Solid Earth Discus 5:2155–2179
Peterson SC, Jackson MA, Kim S, Palmquist DE (2012) Increasing biochar surface area: optimization of ball milling parameters. Powder Technol 228:115–120
Pietikäinen J, Kiikkilä O, Fritze H (2000) Charcoal as a habitat for microbes and its effect on the microbial community of the underlying humus. Oikos 89:231–242
Rajakaruna N, Baker AJM (2004) Serpentinine: a model habitat for botanical research in Sri Lanka. Ceylon J Sci 32:1–19
Rajakaruna N, Knudsen K, Fryday AM, O’Dell RE, Pope N, Olday FC, Woolhouse S (2012) Investigation of the importance of rock chemistry for saxicolous lichen communities of the New Idria serpentinite mass, San Benito County, California, USA. Lichenologist 44:695–714
Rajakaruna N, Tompkins KM, Pavicevic PG (2006) Phytoremediation: an affordable green technology for the clean-up of metal-contaminated sites in Sri Lanka. Ceylon J Sci 35:25–39
Rajapaksha AU, Vithanage M, Oze C, Bandara W, Weerasooriya R (2012) Nickel and manganese release in serpentine soil from the Ussangoda Ultramafic Complex, Sri Lanka. Geoderma 189:1–9
Sruthy OA, Jayalekshmi S (2014) Electrokinetic remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. Int J Struct & Civil Engg 3
Summer ME, Andersen CP (1996) Methods of soil analysis. Journal, Soil Science Society of America
Sun K, Gao B, Ro KS, Novak JM, Wang Z, Herbert S, Xing B (2012) Assessment of herbicide sorption by biochars and organic matter associated with soil and sediment. Environ Pollut 163:167–173
Susaya J, Kim K-H, Asio V, Chen Z-S, Navarrete I (2010) Quantifying nickel in soils and plants in an ultramafic area in Philippines. Environ Monit Assess 167:505–514
Uchimiya M, Klasson KT, Wartelle LH, Lima IM (2011) Influence of soil properties on heavy metal sequestration by biochar amendment: 1. Copper sorption isotherms and the release of cations. Chemosphere 82:1431–1437
Usman AR, Almaroai YA, Ahmad M, Vithanage M, Ok YS (2013) Toxicity of synthetic chelators and metal availability in poultry manure amended Cd, Pb and As contaminated agricultural soil. J Hazard Mater 262:1022–1030
Vithanage M, Rajapaksha AU, Oze C, Rajakaruna N, Dissanayake C (2014a) Metal release from serpentine soils in Sri Lanka. Environ Monit Assess 186:3415–3429
Vithanage M, Rajapaksha AU, Tang X, Thiele-Bruhn S, Kim KH, Lee S-E, Ok YS (2014b) Sorption and transport of sulfamethazine in agricultural soils amended with invasive-plant-derived biochar. J Environ Manage 141:95–103
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Yong Sik Ok
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Herath, I., Kumarathilaka, P., Navaratne, A. et al. Immobilization and phytotoxicity reduction of heavy metals in serpentine soil using biochar. J Soils Sediments 15, 126–138 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0967-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0967-4