Assessing land cress potential for phytoextraction of cadmium from Cdcontaminated soils

Subject Areas : Farm water management with the aim of improving irrigation management indicators

Faranak Mohamadipour ¹ , Safoora Asadi Kapourchal ²

1 - M.Sc., Department of Soil Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Assistant professor, Department of Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Gilan University, Gilan, Iran

Received: 2012-09-09 Accepted : 2012-11-20 Published : 2013-03-12

Keywords: Cadmium, contaminated soils, Heavy Metals, Phytoremediation,

Abstract :

Soil contamination with heavy metals is one of the most important challenges in soil and water conservation area. Remediation of Cd as one of the most important environmental contaminants from contaminated soils due to its high mobility in soil-plant-human chain and adverse effects on human and animals, is very important. Phytoextraction is one of the biological remediation methods in which hyperaccumulator plants are used to take up pollutants from contaminated soils. The objective of this study was to investigate the capability of Land Cress (Lepidium sativum) for phytoremediation of cadmium from Cd-contaminated soils. For this purpose, a randomized block experimental design with six treatments of 0, 3, 5, 10, 25 and 50 mg Cd/ kg soil and four replicates was established in the greenhouse. When plants were fully developed, plants were harvested and cadmium concentrations in the soil, roots and shoots were measured. The results indicated that by increasing Cd concentration in soil, its accumulation in plant tissues was also increased. By increasing cadmium concentration in soil, its concentration within the roots and shoots was increased to 19.3 and 34 times, respectively. This indicates the high capability of both roots and shoots for cadmium uptake from contaminated soils. Total average cadmium concentration in roots and shoots was 65.18 and 60.86 mg/kg, respectively. With increasing cadmium concentration, the time needed for phytoextraction was also increased. The minimum time needed for phytoextraction was belonged to the 3 mg/kg Cd treatment. Since Land Cress has short growing period and high biomass, it can be used as hyperaccumulator plant to remediate cadmium from Cd-contaminated soils.