The metal hyper accumulating plant Thlaspi caerulescens is effective in depleting plant-available metals from the soil. We hypothesized that this reduction of toxic metals in the rhizosphere of T. caerulescens would increase the growth of less metal-tolerant plants with their roots permitted to intermingle and develop coincident rhizospheres. The extent of rhizosphere interaction between T caerulescens and a coplanted nonaccumulator species, Thlaspi arvense, was controlled using barriers. Two media with elevated concentrations of water-extractable Zn were prepared by enriching one soil with zinc oxide (ZnO) or zinc sulfide (ZnS). The shoot mass of T. arvense was increased by 30 when its roots were permitted to intermingle with those of T caerulescens in the ZnO treatment. The concomitant 2-3-fold reduction in shoot Zn concentration in T. arvense confirmed that its improved growth was associated with reduced uptake and phytotoxicity of Zn. Thlaspi arvense also showed increased growth and reduced metal uptake when cocropped with T. caerulescens in the ZnS treatment. We conclude that the strong Zn accumulation by T. caerulescens might enhance the establishment and development of surrounding less-tolerant species on soils that are naturally- or anthropogenically-enriched with metals.
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