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Si-enriched biochars improved soil properties, reduced Cd bioavailability while enhanced Cd translocation to grains of rice

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Abstract

Biochar and silicon (Si) have been widely considered to play an important role in mitigating cadmium (Cd) toxicity. In this study, wild-type rice (WT, high-Si) and Si-deficient mutant rice (lsi1, low-Si) were used as raw materials to prepare biochar at 500℃; the Si concentrations of high- and low-Si biochar were 15.9% and 5.3%, respectively. The impacts of different application rates (0%, 2%, 4%) of high- and low-Si biochars on soil chemical properties, Si and Cd fractions and availability, Cd absorption, and translocation were investigated. The results showed that both types of biochars increased soil pH, soil available nitrogen, and available phosphorus and potassium; and promoted Si uptake and plant growth of rice. Soil available Si, CaCl2-Si, acetic-Si, H2O2-Si, oxalate-Si, and Na2CO3-Si were also increased by biochar supply, especially for high-Si biochar treatments. In addition, both types of biochars had no effects on soil total Cd, but reduced soil available Cd by 2–17% in early season 2022, and reduced oxidizable Cd and residual Cd. Biochar application did not influence Cd concentrations in roots, stems, and leaves, but significantly increased Cd uptake and transport from stems and leaves to grains. The results suggested that Si-rich biochar could improve soil nutrients, change soil Si/Cd fractions and availability, promote rice growth but increase the risk of Cd toxicity in grains, indicating the complex of straw biochar in remediating Cd-contaminated paddy soil.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFD1901603) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (31870420).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, People’s Republic of China

    Dan Tan, Chuang Mei, Liwen Yang, Jianzhu Chen & Kunzheng Cai

  2. Key Laboratory of Tropical Agro-Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, People’s Republic of China

    Dan Tan, Chuang Mei, Liwen Yang, Jianzhu Chen & Kunzheng Cai

  3. Agro-Climatology Laboratory, Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan

    Fahd Rasul

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  1. Dan Tan
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Contributions

DT: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, visualization, writing—review and editing. CM: methodology, software, validation. LY, JC: data curation, investigation. FR: writing—review and editing. KC: conceptualization, funding acquisition, supervision, validation, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Kunzheng Cai.

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Tan, D., Mei, C., Yang, L. et al. Si-enriched biochars improved soil properties, reduced Cd bioavailability while enhanced Cd translocation to grains of rice. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 12194–12206 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-31935-9

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