Affiliation:
1. Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
2. National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Sichuan Province Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Abstract
Lead (Pb) is a common toxic heavy metal element that can be absorbed by plant roots and enter the food chain, damaging human health. Alnus cremastogyne has a wide native range, is fast growing, has a wide range of timber uses, and has rhizomatous roots that can improve planted soils. In this study, we evaluated whether Alnus cremastogyne has the potential to remediate Pb-contaminated soils through a 6-month pot experiment in soils with different Pb concentrations (0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg). Our results indicate that Alnus cremastogyne plant height, basal diameter, and organ biomass decreased, H2O2 and MDA content increased, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes and osmotic regulators increased and then decreased with increasing lead concentrations. The Pb bioconcentration factor of Alnus cremastogyne was less than 1 at all Pb concentrations, and Pb accumulated mainly in the root system. This indicates that Alnus cremastogyne is not a Pb-enriched plant and does not have outstanding Pb transport capacity. The growth of Alnus cremastogyne was not significantly affected at low Pb concentrations, and its plant height, basal diameter, and biomass were significantly suppressed under high Pb stress. Therefore, Alnus cremastogyne is not a suitable species for the remediation of lead-contaminated soils but can be used as a silvicultural species in environments with low lead levels.
Funder
Breeding Research Project of Sichuan Province