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Assessment of natural sepiolite on cadmium stabilization, microbial communities, and enzyme activities in acidic soil

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Abstract

A pot trial was conducted to assess the efficiency of sepiolite-induced cadmium (Cd) immobilization in ultisoils. Under Cd concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mg kg−1, the available Cd in the soil after the application of 1–10 % sepiolite decreased by a maximum of 44.4, 23.0, and 17.0 %, respectively, compared with no sepiolite treatments. The increase in the values of soil enzyme activities and microbial number proved that a certain metabolic recovery occurred after sepiolite treatment. The dry biomass of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) increased with increasing sepiolite concentration in the soil. However, the concentration (dry weight) of Cd in the spinach shoots decreased with the increase in sepiolite dose, with maximum reduction of 92.2, 90.0, and 84.9 %, respectively, compared with that of unamended soils. Under a Cd level of 1.25 mg kg−1, the Cd concentration in the edible parts of spinach at 1 % sepiolite amendment was lower than 0.2 mg kg−1 fresh weight, the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of Cd in vegetable. Even at higher Cd concentrations (2.5 and 5 mg kg−1), safe spinach was produced when the sepiolite treatment was up to 5 %. The results showed that sepiolite-assisted remediation could potentially succeed on a field scale by decreasing Cd entry into the food chain.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21177068, 40901154, and 21107056) and the Program for Distinguishing Scholar and Innovative Team of MOA. The authors would also like to thank the Central Public Research Institutes Basic Funds for Research and Development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Original Environmental Quality, Institute of Agro-environmental Protection, Ministry of Agriculture, Tianjin, 300191, China

    Yuebing Sun, Yingming Xu, Lin Wang, Xuefeng Liang & Dasong Lin

  2. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Agro-environment and Agro-product Safety, Institute of Agro-environmental Protection, Ministry of Agriculture, Tianjin, 300191, China

    Yuebing Sun, Yingming Xu, Lin Wang, Xuefeng Liang & Dasong Lin

  3. Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Guohong Sun

  4. School of Environmental Science and Safety Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Fazhi Hu

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  1. Yuebing Sun
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  2. Guohong Sun
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  3. Yingming Xu
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  4. Lin Wang
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Correspondence to Yingming Xu.

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Sun, Y., Sun, G., Xu, Y. et al. Assessment of natural sepiolite on cadmium stabilization, microbial communities, and enzyme activities in acidic soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 3290–3299 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1261-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1261-x

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