Trace elements in wild grasses: a phytoavailability study on a remediated field

摘要

There have been significant efforts to establish a widely usable method for the prediction of trace element bioavailability in soil. In this work, we used extraction with 0.01 M CaCl_2 and 0.05 M ethyl-enediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to estimate bio-available concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in a soil moderately contaminated with trace elements 1 and 2 years after the application of three amendments. The experiment took place in a field plot of a soil affected by the toxic spill of the Aznalcollar mine. Four treatments were established: three with amendments (biosolid compost, sugar beet lime, and a combination of leonardite plus sugar beet lime) and a control without amendment. Trace element concentrations of two representative species in each year (Lamarckia aurea and Poa annua in 2004 and Lam-arckia aurea and Bromus rubens in 2005) were analyzed. The results showed a positive effect of the amendments both on soil and vegetation. Trace element concentrations in plants growing in the amended subplots were lower than those in plants from nonamended subplots. As a rule, concentrations of CaCl_2-soluble Cd, Cu, and Zn in soil were positively correlated with trace elements in plants, whereas EDTA extraction was scarcely correlated with plant concentration. For species of grasses, especially L. aurea, CaCl_2 seems to be a more suitable extract-ant to predict trace element bioavailability in this contaminated soil.