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Cd immobilization in a contaminated rice paddy by inorganic stabilizers of calcium hydroxide and silicon slag and by organic stabilizer of biochar

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Abstract

A field experiment was conducted in a Cd-contaminated rice paddy field to evaluate the effect of inorganic and organic metal stabilizers on Cd mobility and rice uptake. A dose of inorganic stabilizer of calcium hydroxide (CH), silicon slag (SS), and wheat straw biochar (BC) was amended respectively to topsoil before rice transplanting. Rice production was managed with the same water regime and fertilization practices consistently between treatments including a control without amendment. Samples of topsoil and rice plant were collected at rice harvest to analyze the Cd mobility and uptake by rice. Without affecting rice grain yield, the stabilizers significantly decreased CaCl2-extractable Cd in a range of 44 to 75 % compared to the control, corresponding to soil pH changes under the different treatments. Accordingly, Cd concentrations both in rice tissue and in rice grain were very significantly decreased under these treatments. The decrease in rice Cd uptake was correlated to the decrease in extractable Cd, which was again correlated to soil pH change under the different treatments, indicating a prevalent role of liming effect by the amendments. While applied at a large amount in a single year, organic stabilizer of BC decreased Cd extractability by up to 43 % and Cd rice uptake by up to 61 %, being the most effective on Cd immobilization. However, the long-term effect on soil health and potential tradeoff effects with different stabilizers deserve further field monitoring studies.

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Acknowledgments

This study was founded by the China National Natural Science Foundation (41501353) and by the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (key technologies of biochar for agricultural soil remediation) under grant no. 201303095-11. The authors also thank the support from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under grant no. 2015M571767.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Resources, Ecosystem and Environment of Agriculture, and Center of Biochar and Green Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, 1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Rongjun Bian, Lianqing Li, Dandan Bao, Jinwei Zheng, Xuhui Zhang, Jufeng Zheng, Xiaoyu Liu, Kun Cheng & Genxing Pan

  2. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, 1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Rongjun Bian, Lianqing Li & Genxing Pan

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  1. Rongjun Bian
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  2. Lianqing Li
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  4. Jinwei Zheng
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Correspondence to Genxing Pan.

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Bian, R., Li, L., Bao, D. et al. Cd immobilization in a contaminated rice paddy by inorganic stabilizers of calcium hydroxide and silicon slag and by organic stabilizer of biochar. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 10028–10036 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6214-3

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