Abstract
Total concentration is not a reliable indicator of Cu mobility or its bioavailability in soils. The chemical fraction determines the behavior of Cu in soils and hence its toxicity for terrestrial biota. We used the sequential extraction procedure and barley toxicity tests to examine the transfer of Cu in soils around the Dexing Cu mine and to make an ecological risk assessment of Cu in this area. The bioavailable Cu (exchangeable Cu and carbonate-bound Cu) in each soil profile did not change significantly with soil depth, indicating that the Cu itself was vertically mobile and thus potentially a higher risk to the environment. Cu toxicity and bioaccumulation in plants varied with the soil physicochemical characteristics [e.g., pH, clay content, and cation exchange capacity (CEC)] and the level of bioavailable Cu. Multiple regression analysis revealed that bioavailable Cu and CEC could be used to predict Cu toxicity to barley and that other characteristics (such as soil pH, clay content, or total organic carbon) did not predict the risk of toxicity as well as CEC. For the soil to be suitable for agriculture use, treatment of the local soil contamination with guest soil reclamation and phytoremediation with heavy metal-resistant plants would be necessary.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abul Kashem, M. D., Singh, B. R., & Kawai, S. (2007). Mobility and distribution of cadmium, nickel and zinc in contaminated soil profiles from Bangladesh. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 77, 187–198.
Arduini, I., Godbold, D. L., & Onnis, A. (1995). Influence of copper on root growth and morphology of Pinus pinea L. and Pinus pinaster Ait. seedlings. Tree Physiology, 15(6), 411–415.
Banat, K. M., Howari, F. M., & Al-Hamad, A. A. (2005). Heavy metals in urban soils of central Jordan: Should we worry about their environmental risks? Environmental Research, 97, 258–273.
Chhabra, R., Pleysier J., & Cremers A. (1975). The measurement of the cation exchange capacity and exchangeable cations in soil: A new method. In Proceedings of the international clay conference applied publishing Ltd (pp. 439–448).
Cobb, G. P., Sands, K., Waters, M., Wixson, B. G., & Dorward-King, E. (2000). Accumulation of heavy metals by vegetables grown in mine wastes. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 19(3), 600–607.
Concas, A., Ardau, C., Cristini, A., Zuddas, P., & Cao, G. (2006). Mobility of heavy metals from tailings to stream waters in a mining activity contaminated site. Chemosphere, 63(2), 244–253.
Cornelis, R. (2002). Speciation of trace elements: A way to a safer world. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 373, 123–124.
Filgueiras, A. V., Lavilla, I., & Bendicho, C. (2002). Chemical sequential extraction for metal partitioning in environmental solid samples. Journal of Environmental Monitor, 4, 823–857.
Ginocchio, R., Sanchez, P., De La Fuente, L. M., Camus, I., Bustamante, E., Silva, Y., et al. (2006). Agricultural soils spiked with copper mine wastes and copper concentrate: Implications for copper bioavailability and bioaccumulation. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 25(3), 712–718.
He, M., Wang, Z., & Tang, H. (1998). The chemical, toxicological and ecological studies in assessing the heavy metal pollution in Le An River, China. Water Research, 32(2), 510–518.
Kettler, T. A., Doran, J. W., & Gilbert, T. L. (2001). Simplified method for soil particle size determination to accompany soil quality analyses. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 65, 849–852.
Kim, B., & McBride, M. B. (2009). Phytotoxic effects of Cu and Zn on soybeans grown in field-aged soils: Their additive and interactive actions. Journal of Environmental Quality, 38, 2253–2259.
Lanno, R., Wells, J., Conder, J., Bradham, K., & Basta, N. (2004). The bioavailability of chemicals in soil for earthworms. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 57(1), 39–47.
Luna, C. M., González, C. A., & Trippi, V. S. (1994). Oxidative damage caused by an excess of copper in oat leaves. Plant and Cell Physiology, 35, 11–15.
Mulligan, C. N., Yong, R. N., & Gibbs, B. F. (2001). An evaluation of technologies for the heavy metal remediation of dredged sediments. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 85(1–2),145–163.
Nyamangara, J. (1998). Use of sequential extraction to evaluate zinc and copper in a soil amended with sewage sludge and inorganic metal salts. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 69(2), 135–141.
OECD. (2006). Guidelines for the testing of chemicals. Section 2: Effects on biotic systems. 208 terrestrial plants, growth test. Paris, France: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Oorts, K., Ghesquiere, U., Swinnen, K., & Smolders, E. (2006). Soil properties affecting the toxicity of CuCl2 and NiCl2 for soil microbial processes in freshly spiked soils. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 25(3), 836–844.
Pueyo, M., Sastre, J., Hernández, E., Vidal, M., López-Sánchez, J. F., & Rauret, G. (2003). Prediction of trace element mobility in contaminated soils by sequential extraction. Journal of Environmental Quality, 32, 2054–2066.
Rodriguez, L., Ruiz, E., Alonso-Azcarate, J., & Rincon, J. (2009). Heavy metal distribution and chemical speciation in tailings and soils around a Pb-Zn mine in Spain. Journal of Environmental Management, 90(2), 1106–1116.
Rooney, C. P., Zhao, F. J., & McGrath, S. P. (2006). Soil factors controlling the expression of copper toxicity to plants in a wide range of European soils. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 25(3), 726–732.
Silk, W. K., Bambic, D. G., O’Dell, R. E., & Green, P. G. (2006). Seasonal and spatial patterns of metals at a restored copper mine site II. Copper in riparian soils and Bromus carinatus shoots. Environmental Pollution, 144(3), 783–789.
Tembo, B. D., Sichilongo, K., & Cernak, J. (2006). Distribution of copper, lead, cadmium and zinc concentrations in soils around Kabwe town in Zambia. Chemosphere, 63(3), 497–501.
Teng, Y., Ni, S., Jiao, P., Deng, J., Zhang, C., & Wang, J. (2004). Eco-environmental geochemistry of heavy metal pollution in dexing mining area. Chinese Journal of Geochemistry, 23(4), 349–358.
Tessier, A., Campbell, P. G. C., & Blsson, M. (1979). Sequential extraction procedure for the speciation of particulate trace metals. Analytical Chemistry, 51(7), 844–851.
Vega, F. A., Covelo, E. F., & Andrade, M. L. (2006). Competitive sorption and desorption of heavy metals in mine soils: Influence of mine soil characteristics. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 298(2), 582–592.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support from the Key Lab of City Agriculture (South), Ministry of Agriculture, China (09UA004) and from the International Copper Association.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guo, G., Yuan, T., Wang, W. et al. Bioavailability, mobility, and toxicity of Cu in soils around the Dexing Cu mine in China. Environ Geochem Health 33, 217–224 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-010-9334-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-010-9334-6