Accumulation and distribution of cadmium and lead in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in contaminated soils from the oasis, north-west China.

BACKGROUND: Crops grown in soils contaminated by heavy metals are an important avenue for toxic metals entering the human food chain. The objectives of our study were to investigate the accumulation and distribution of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in wheat plants cultivated in arid soils spiked with different doses of heavy metal, as well as bioavailability of these metals in the contaminated arid soils from the oasis, north-west China. RESULTS: The concentrations of Cd in the roots of wheat plants were about 5, 14 and 8 times higher than those in the shoots, shells and grains, respectively. The concentrations of Pb in the roots were about 23, 76 and 683 times higher than those in the shoots, shells and grains, respectively. Grains contained 11-14% and 0.1-0.2% of Cd and Pb found in roots of wheat plants. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) is the ratio of metal concentration in plant tissues and metal concentration in their rooted soils. The average BCF of Cd and Pb in grains was 0.6270 and 0.0007. Cd and Pb contents in different parts of wheat plants mainly correlated with the bound-to-carbonate metal fractions in contaminated arid soils. CONCLUSION: The preliminary study indicated that Cd and Pb were predominantly accumulated and distributed in wheat roots and shoots, and only a small proportion of these metals can reach the grains. The carbonate fractions mainly contributed to Cd and Pb bioavailability in contaminated arid soils.

[Speciation Characteristics and Bioavailability of Heavy Metals in Oasis Soil Under Pb, Zn Combined Stress].

Pot experiments were conducted on cole (Brassica) grown in oasis soil under combined stress of lead and zinc, to study the effect of heavy metal combined pollution on cole growth as well as the speciation conversion rules and bioavailability. The result showed that the promoting effect on cole growth was shown in the low concentration treatments, especially on stem leaves. With addition of exotic heavy metals, the main speciations of Pb and Zn in the soil transformed from tight-bound to loose-bound forms as compared to the control, and the bioavailability of heavy metals was increased. And, the exchangeable Pb and the carbonate bound form of Zn were the major contributing speciations which were absorbed in different parts of cole. What's more, the capabilities of uptake and translocation of Pb and Zn by cole were stronger at lower stress levels, and the enrichment and migration coefficients decreased with the increasing content of bioavailable fraction of the corresponding element or the coexisting element. In all treatments, the Pb concentration in the stem leaves of cole exceeded the food safety threshold, therefore it is recommended to conduct detection of relevant indicators before planting foliage vegetables in this kind of soil.

[Uptake effect of Cd and Pb by rape under single Cd/Pb and Cd-Pb combined stress].

This paper investigated the effects of single Cd/Pb and Cd-Pb combined pollution of desert grey soils from the oasis regions on the uptake and translocation of Cd and Pb by rape (Brassica campestris L.), and analyzed the interaction between Cd and Pb. The results of pot experiment showed that the concentration of Cd or Pb was promoted when the concentration of Cd in soil was less than 7.0 mg x kg(-1) and the concentration of Pb in soil was less than 1 500 mg x kg(-1) in single Cd/Pb and Cd-Pb combined pollution. There was an obvious antagonism between Cd and Pb in Cd-Pb combined pollution. As the concentration of Cd in soil increased in single Cd pollution, the enrichment and translocation ability of Cd in rape was firstly improved and then reduced. As the concentration of Pb in soil increased in single Pb pollution, the enrichment and translocation ability of Pb in rape was reduced continuously. The Cd-Pb combined stress reduced the enrichment capacity of Cd and Pb as well as the migration ability of Pb, but improved the migration ability of Cd. The enrichment and translocation ability of Cd was greater than that of Pb. Models of uptake and translocation of Cd and Pb in rape under single Cd/Pb and Cd-Pb combined stress were both well fitted to quadratic equations.