土壤重金属的植物污染化学研究进展

针对中国土壤重金属污染加剧的趋势,为改善土壤环境质量和保障农产品安全,提出了土壤重金属的植物污染化学研究领域.结合多年的研究工作,从土壤重金属的植物根际化学行为、土壤重金属的植物吸收与解毒机制和重金属污染土壤的植物-微生物交互作用等方面简要阐述了土壤-植物系统中重金属的分布、存在形态、迁移转化、累积及生物学效应和控制规律的研究进展,并对将来的植物污染化学理论研究提出了展望.     

玉米对城市排污河萘污染沉积物的修复

为有效去除城市排污河沉积物中的多环芳烃类污染物,选择玉米作为供试植物,种植于排污河底泥与营养土以1∶1、1∶2、1∶3的质量比混匀的土壤中。通过90 d的盆栽试验,研究了玉米对土壤中萘的去除效果,以及植物和微生物去除土壤中萘的交互效应。结果表明,种植玉米后土壤中萘的降解率显著升高,在底泥与营养土配比为1∶1、1∶2和1∶3土壤中,种植玉米90 d后萘的降解率分别达89.7%、90.3%和86.7%,明显高于空白对照组,且底泥与营养土配比为1∶2的土壤中萘去除率最高。不同处理后土壤中的微生物数量并无明显差异。在萘的去除过程中,植物吸收作用比较明显,种植90 d后玉米植株体内的萘也基本降解。植物根际土壤中脲酶活性测定结果显示,萘浓度越低,脲酶活性越高,脲酶活性变化在一定程度上可以反映萘的污染状况。研究表明,种植玉米可以强化土壤修复萘污染的作用。     

Cd污染土壤的植物修复研究进展

我国农业土壤重金属污染十分严重,在所有的重金属污染中,Cd以其移动性大、毒性高成为最受关注的重金属污染之一。修复Cd污染的土壤,已成为我国农业可持续发展亟待解决的问题。与传统环境修复技术相比,植物修复技术治理成本低廉,土壤破坏力小,安全性高,是目前发展最快的环境友好、经济、高效的治理技术。介绍了Cd污染现状、超积累植物的概念和特征、土壤重金属污染植物修复国内外研究进展,并对其发展趋势进行了分析。     

水生植物修复氮、磷污染水体研究进展

氮、磷是引起水体富营养化、导致水质恶化的重要因素,因此去除氮、磷一直是污水处理的重要任务.鉴于传统物理、化学方法存在的操作难、成本高、易产生二次污染等问题,人们越来越多地将目光转向利用水生植物去除氮、磷营养物质、净化水质上.介绍了近年来国内外应用水生植物修复氮、磷污染水体的方法、效果及其影响因素,探讨了水生植物净化污染水体的机制.针对目前研究中的不足,提出今后应在不同植物种类开发、植物组合优化以及植物的净化机制等方面加强研究.     

交流电场联合有机物料强化东南景天修复重金属镉污染土壤

针对土壤重金属污染植物修复效率低的问题,采用盆栽实验,通过施加多种强度的交流电场(0、0.5、1.0 V·cm⁻¹)和不同种类的有机物料(黄腐酸钾、紫云英),研究了交流电场及其与有机物料联合对重金属超积累植物东南景天修复重金属镉污染土壤效率的作用。结果表明,交流电场促进了东南景天的生长和对重金属的吸收,以0.5 V·cm⁻¹作用最佳,在电场处理组20 d后东南景天地上部Cd积累量比不施加电场的处理组提高了48.1%。交流电场和有机物料联用可以进一步提升东南景天对土壤镉的累积,施加黄腐酸钾处理组有利于土壤酸可提取态Cd的提高,比对照组提高了16.35%。在交流电场为0.5 V·cm⁻¹条件下,以0.3%施用效果最佳,施加黄腐酸钾和紫云英分别是对照组(施加交流电场,不施加有机物料)的3.65倍和1.73倍。有机物料和交流电场的共同作用极大地促进了东南景天镉的积累。     

重金属污染土壤中提高植物提取修复功效的探讨

随着对重金属超积累植物研究的加深 ,用植物提取修复技术来改良重金属污染的土壤已逐步进入实用阶段。本文所探讨的提高此技术功效的方法基于两个方面 :提高土壤溶液中重金属的浓度 ,促进植物对重金属的吸收 ;根据已了解的超积累的生理机制可能采取的一些措施     

Exploiting plant metabolism for the phytoremediation of persistent herbicides

Weed control by herbicides has helped us to create the green revolution and to provide food for at least the majority of human beings living today. However, some herbicides remain in the environment and pose an ecological problem. The present review describes the properties and fate of four representative herbicides known to be presistent in ecosystems. Metabolic networks are depicted and it is concluded that removal of these compounds by the ecologically friendly technique of phytoremediation is possible. The largest problem is seen in the uptake of the compounds into suitable plants and the time needed for such an approach.     

Growth of Plants on TBT-contaminated Harbour Sludge and Effect on TBT Removal (10 pp)

Background Worldwide, large amounts of sediments have to be dredged annually from waterways and harbours. These sediments are sometimes polluted with a variety of toxic compounds. In some countries, including Belgium, the load with the biocide tributyltin (TBT) from ship coatings prohibits the dumping of harbour sludge into the sea. Land-based dumping is a commonly used alternative. Objective This research investigated the feasibility to use land-deposited harbour sludge for plant production. In a field trial, the growth of 38 more or less salt-tolerant plant species on low and high TBT-contaminated sediments was studied. The elimination of TBT from sludge with and without vegetation was compared. The uptake of TBT and its degradation products di- and monobutyltin (DBT and MBT) into harvest products under field conditions was determined. - Experimental Set-up. Sediments dredged in May 2003 from the brackish waters of the port of Antwerp were analysed in the laboratory for soil texture, pH, electroconductivity, sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, ammonium, nitrate, total nitrogen, chloride, sulphur and the organotins TBT, DBT and MBT. The sediments were lagooned for one year to dewater, desalinate and improve their structure. Salt-tolerant domestic and wild plants were selected and sown in May 2004. In August 2004, plants were harvested and the produced biomass was determined. Samples were taken from vegetated and non-vegetated top and bottom sediments and from plants growing above soil and analysed for TBT, DBT and MBT. Results The fresh sediments showed a good supply with nutrients and a neutral pH, but were rather saline (EC 14 mS cm-1 of the saturated paste extract). The salinity decreased to 3.7 mS cm-1 during lagoonation. The high and the low contaminated sediment had initially 43 and 1.6 mg TBT kg-1 dry weight, respectively. Besides TBT, several other contaminants were present in the sediments at critical levels. The biomass production of the plant species from the field trial ranged from 0.2 to 13 tons dry mass per hectare. Plants performing excellently were barley, sorghum, rape seed, a clover/grass mix and reed. If at all, a positive influence of TBT on plant growth was seen. TBT was degraded significantly faster (>40%) below barley. The uptake of TBT, DBT and MBT into stem and leaves of reed, grass and clover was very low, but measurable and not related to concentrations in soil. No uptake of TBT or its metabolites into corn of barley was found. Discussion This study confirmed former results: the toxicity of TBT to higher plants is low, and even high levels in soils would not be a hindrance for crop production. The removal of TBT seemed to be increased by both lagooning and plant growth, although the target values for sea dumping in use in certain European countries were not reached. A plausible explanation for the faster degradation of TBT under vegetation is that oxygen is a limiting factor, and plants dewater the soil, thus aerating it. The uptake of the organotins TBT, DBT and MBT into harvest products is probably due to attached soil particles. Conclusions To summarize, barley was the optimal species: it grew very well despite the salinity of the dredged sediments, it had a significantly positive effect on TBT removal; it showed no measurable uptake of TBT or the other butyltins into the harvested product; and it is a cash crop well established in European agriculture. Outlook The amounts of dredged sediments are high, and good soils are becoming increasingly rare. The feasibility of using dredged sediments for non-food production, such as energy crops, should be investigated by a critical risk assessment.     

Cyanide Removal by Chinese Vegetation. Quantification of the Michaelis-Menten Kinetics (6 pp)

Background Little is known about metabolism rates of environmental chemicals by vegetation. A good model compound to study the variation of rates among plant species is cyanide. Vascular plants possess an enzyme system that detoxifies cyanide by converting it to the amino acid asparagine. Knowledge of the kinetic parameters, the half-saturation constant (Km) and the maximum metabolic capacity (vmax), is very useful for enzyme characterization and biochemical purposes. The goal of this study is to find the enzyme kinetics (KM and vmax) during cyanide metabolism in the presence of Chinese vegetation, to provide quantitative data for engineered phytoremediation, and to investigate the variation of metabolic rates of plants. Methods Detached leaves (1.0 g fresh weight) from 12 species out of 9 families were kept in glass vessels with 100 mL of aqueous solution spiked with potassium cyanide at 23°C for 28 h. Four different treatment concentrations of cyanide were used, ranging from 0.44 to 7.69 mg CN/L. The disappearance of cyanide from the aqueous solution was analyzed spectrophotometrically. Realistic values of the half-saturation constant (KM) and the maximum metabolic capacity (vmax) were estimated by a computer program using non-linear regression treatments. As a comparison, Lineweaver-Burk plots were also used to estimate the kinetic parameters. Results and Discussion The values obtained for KM and vmax varied with plant species. Using non-linear regression treatments, values of vmax and KM were found in a range between 6.68 and 21.91 mg CN/kg/h and 0.90 to 3.15 mg CN/L, respectively. The highest vmax was by Chinese elder (Sambucus chinensis), followed by upright hedge-parsley (Torilis japonica). The lowest vmax was demonstrated by the hybrid willow (Salix matssudana x alba). However, the highest KM was found in the water lily (Nymphea teragona), followed by the poplar (Populus deltoides Marsh). The lowest KM was demonstrated by corn (Zea mays L.). The values of vmax were normally distributed with a mean of 13 mg CN/kg/h. Conclusions Significant removal of cyanide from aqueous solution was observed in the presence of plant materials without phytotoxicity, even at high doses of cyanide. This gives rise to the conclusion that the Chinese plant species used in this study are all able to efficiently metabolize cyanide, although with different maximum metabolic capacities. A second conclusion is that the variation of metabolism rates between species is small. All these plants had a similar KM, indicating the same enzyme is active in all plants. Recommendations and Outlook Detoxification of cyanide with trees seems to be a feasible option for cleaning soils and water contaminated with cyanide. For phytoremediation projects, screening appropriate plant species adapted to local conditions should be seriously considered. More chemicals should be investigated to find common principles of the metabolism of environmental chemicals by plants.