Antimony in the soil - plant system - a review

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Tschan ◽  
Brett H. Robinson ◽  
Rainer Schulin

Environmental context. Soil contamination by antimony (Sb) has become an environmental problem of much concern in recent years, because increasing mining and industrial use has led to widespread soil contamination by this biologically unessential, but potentially carcinogenic element. We reviewed the available literature and found that Sb is generally taken up by terrestrial plants in proportion to the concentration of soluble Sb in soil over a concentration range covering five or more orders of magnitude, a finding that is relevant in particular for the assessment of environmental and health risks arising from Sb-contaminated soils. But very little is known about the mechanisms of Sb uptake by plants. Abstract. Soil contamination by antimony (Sb) due to human activities has considerably increased in the recent past. We reviewed the available literature on Sb uptake by plants and toxicity risks arising from soil contamination by Sb and found that Sb is generally taken up by terrestrial plants in proportion to the concentration of soluble Sb in soil over a concentration range covering five or more orders of magnitude. However, very little is known about the mechanisms of Sb uptake by plants. Also the deposition of resuspended soil particles on the surfaces of aerial plant surfaces can result in high plant Sb concentration in the vicinity of Sb-contaminated sites. Although soil pollution by Sb may be rarely so severe as to cause toxicity problems to humans or animals consuming plants or food derived from plants grown on Sb-contaminated sites, such risks may arise under worst-case conditions.

Soil Research ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 937 ◽  
Author(s):  
KG Tiller

The current knowledge of the pollution of Australian urban soils was reviewed with special reference to heavy metals. Increased community concern in recent years has resulted m a major upsurge in the investigation and rehabilitation of contaminated soils. This has led to a concomitant reassessment and development of regulatory procedures, and the establishment of some new environmental agencies. This review considers sources and extent of contamination, and approaches to the establishment of reference background levels in urban and rural areas. Assessment of contaminated sites has been largely based on overseas experience but site specific approaches relevant to Australian soils and climates are needed and are being developed by State authorities in collaboration with the Australian and New Zealand Environmental and Conservation Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. The need for soil-based research and for standardized soil sampling procedures for site evaluation and action is stressed. Many opportunities exist for soil scientists in solving problems of soil contamination and rehabilitation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaurav Kumar ◽  
Akshay Kumar ◽  
Farhan Mohammad Khan ◽  
Rajiv Gupta

PurposeThere are several methods developed in the recent past to predict the spread of COVID-19 in different countries. However, due to changing scenarios in terms of interaction among people, none could predict the case close to the actual figures. An attempt to simulate people's interaction due to economic reopening concerning the confirmed cases at various places as per changing situation has been made. The scenario development method's base lies in the hypothesis that if there were no inter-state transportation during India's lockdown after May 24th, the number of infection cases would have started lowering down in a normalized progression.Design/methodology/approachThis study has developed three scenarios from the worst to the business-as-usual to the best in order to project the COVID-19 infections in India concerning infections observed from January 30th till May 24th, 2020, since the domestic flights became operational from May 25th, 2020, in India.FindingsBased on the observed cases till May 24th, the rise of cases is projected further in a random progression and superimposed to the normal progression. The results obtained in the three scenarios present that worst case needs complete lockdown, business-as-usual case needs regulatory lockdown and best case assures complete lockdown release by the second week of September 2020. This study suggests the preparedness and mitigation strategy for a threefold lockdown management scheme in all-inclusive.Originality/valueThe work has been done on a hypothesis which is solely original.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. KHAN ◽  
N. AHMED ◽  
W. HASSAN ◽  
T. SABA ◽  
S. KHAN ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT: Phytoremediation is a useful tool to restore heavy metals contaminated soils. This study was carried out to test two castor (Ricinus communis) cultivars [Local and DS-30] for phytoextraction of heavy metals from the soil spiked by known concentrations of seven metals (Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn). A pot experiment was laid out by using a completely randomized design. Soil and plant samples were analyzed at 100 days after planting. The data on heavy metal uptake by plant tissues (roots, leaves and shoots) of the two castor cultivars suggested that a considerable amount of metals (Fe = 27.18 mg L-1; Cu = 5.06 mg L-1; Cr = 2.95 mg L-1; Mn = 0.22 mg L-1; Ni = 4.66 mg L-1; Pb = 3.33 mg L-1; Zn = 15.04 mg L-1) was accumulated in the plant biomass. The soil heavy metal content at the end of experiment significantly decreased with both cultivars, resulting in improved soil quality. Therefore, it is concluded that both castor cultivars, Local and DS-30, can be used for phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated sites.


Geosciences ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manar Hasan ◽  
Abdul-Sahib Al-Madhhachi

Iraqi soil contamination greatly influenced soil detachment. Previous researchers have not been able to predict the influence of crude oil soil contamination on either the mechanistic dimensional detachment parameter b0 or the threshold parameter b1 of the mechanistic detachment model (Wilson model). The aims of this research were (1) to investigate the influence of crude oil on deriving Wilson model parameters, b0 and b1, with two setups at different scales and different soil moisture contents and (2) to predict b0 and b1 in crude oil contaminated dry soils with varying levels of contamination. The “mini” JET apparatus was implemented under laboratory conditions for soil specimens packed at both a small (standard mold) and a large (in-situ soil box) scale. The results showed an inverse correlation between b0 and water content for clean soil. No correlation between b0 and soil moisture content was observed for contaminated soils. There was a huge reduction in the b0 value as the contamination time increased compared to the clean soil. This was related to the role crude oil plays in soil stabilization. Crude oil contamination significantly increased lead contamination level while slightly increasing the pH and total organic carbon. The influence of crude oil on mechanistic soil detachment can be predicted with a priori JET experiments on soils without crude oil based on crude oil parameters.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Nogales ◽  
Erika S. Santos ◽  
Gonçalo Victorino ◽  
Wanda Viegas ◽  
Maria Manuela Abreu

<p>Copper-based fungicides are commonly applied in vineyards to control fungal diseases that can severely affect grapevine productivity. Continuous application of this type of fungicides contributes to Cu accumulation in surface horizons of the soil, which can generate toxicity problems in plants, regardless of being an essential nutrient. Several strategies have been proposed to immobilize or counteract the effect of soil contaminants, such as plant inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However, depending on the element concentration, this may not be sufficient to avoid its excessive accumulation in belowground and/or aboveground organs. Since Fe is known to have an antagonistic interaction with Cu in plants, Fe application, as an amendment, in vineyard soils, could be a good strategy to avoid excessive Cu uptake by grapevines growing in Cu-contaminated soils. However, little information is available on the combined effects of both strategies.</p><p>In order to reveal the possible beneficial effects of plant mycorrhization and Fe application in Cu-contaminated soils on grapevine growth and nutrition, a mesocosm experiment was established under controlled conditions. Two-year-old plants, previously inoculated or not with two different AMF, were grown in pots filled with 6.5 kg of an Arenosol collected from a wine-growing region. These plants were subjected to three soil treatments: 1) soil contamination with Cu, where the grapevines were watered with a solution containing 5.89 mg/L CuSO<sub>4</sub> to ensure that the soil in each container reached 300 mg Cu/kg; 2) soil contamination with Cu + Fe addition, where the plants were watered with a solution that contained the same amount of CuSO<sub>4</sub> plus 0.38 mg/L of FeNaEDTA·3H<sub>2</sub>O to achieve 100 mg of Fe/kg soil; and 3) non-contaminated soil watered with deionized water. Four months later, at the end of the growing season, plant vegetative growth as well as leaf and root nutrient contents were analyzed.</p><p>Grapevines inoculated with AMF demonstrated a good level of tolerance to high Cu concentrations in soil, as they presented significantly higher root biomass than non-inoculated plants and Cu was mainly accumulated in the roots avoiding its translocation to the aerial part. However, when the Cu-contaminated soil was amended with Fe, a significant decrease was observed in root biomass in all mycorrhizal inoculation treatments and Cu was accumulated in grapevine leaves. Contrastingly, Fe application helped to avoid the excessive increase of Mn concentrations in leaf and roots that is commonly induced in Cu contaminated soils, which can be detrimental for grapevine growth.</p><p>These results demonstrated that mycorrhizal inoculation is a suitable strategy to promote grapevine growth in Cu-contaminated soils. However, special attention needs to be taken when applying amendments to correct Cu contamination, as the mycorrhizal status of plants may alter the expected outcome.</p><p> </p><div> <div> </div> </div>


2020 ◽  
Vol 707 ◽  
pp. 136121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasir Hamid ◽  
Lin Tang ◽  
Bilal Hussain ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Qiang Lin ◽  
...  

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim Lamine ◽  
George Petropoulos ◽  
Paul Brewer ◽  
Nour-El-Islam Bachari ◽  
Prashant Srivastava ◽  
...  

Technological advances in hyperspectral remote sensing have been widely applied in heavy metal soil contamination studies, as they are able to provide assessments in a rapid and cost-effective way. The present work investigates the potential role of combining field and laboratory spectroradiometry with geochemical data of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) in quantifying and modelling heavy metal soil contamination (HMSC) for a floodplain site located in Wales, United Kingdom. The study objectives were to: (i) collect field- and lab-based spectra from contaminated soils by using ASD FieldSpec® 3, where the spectrum varies between 350 and 2500 nm; (ii) build field- and lab-based spectral libraries; (iii) conduct geochemical analyses of Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd using atomic absorption spectrometer; (iv) identify the specific spectral regions associated to the modelling of HMSC; and (v) develop and validate heavy metal prediction models (HMPM) for the aforementioned contaminants, by considering their spectral features and concentrations in the soil. Herein, the field- and lab-based spectral features derived from 85 soil samples were used successfully to develop two spectral libraries, which along with the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd were combined to build eight HMPMs using stepwise multiple linear regression. The results showed, for the first time, the feasibility to predict HMSC in a highly contaminated floodplain site by combining soil geochemistry analyses and field spectroradiometry. The generated models help for mapping heavy metal concentrations over a huge area by using space-borne hyperspectral sensors. The results further demonstrated the feasibility of combining geochemistry analyses with filed spectroradiometric data to generate models that can predict heavy metal concentrations.


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