Assessing the potential for cadmium phytoremediation with Calamagrostis epigejos: a pot experiment

A pot experiment was conducted for three vegetation periods on a sandy soil (pH 7.5) to study the uptake and distribution of Cd in plant tissues of Calamagrostis epigejos (L.) Roth. Cadmium was applied as CdCl2 (a total of 11 solution of 0, 20. 100, and 200 mg Cd l(-1)). HNO3- and water-extractable concentrations of Cd in 2- and 20-cm soil depths were correlated with the applied Cd showing that Cd was very mobile in the soil. The uptake of Cd from soil by Calamagrostis epigejos was directly related to the total soil Cd content and to the water-soluble pool of Cd. The concentrations of Cd in plant tissues (roots, rhizomes, leaves) and litter increased with increased applied Cd. Most of the Cd that was taken up was accumulated in roots (range from 1.88+/-0.42 to 40.96+/-16.71 mg kg(-1) dry mass), followed by rhizomes (0.52+/-0.13 to 25.70+/-6.35 mg kg(-1)) and leaves (0.30+/-0.06 to 9.20+/-1.93 mg kg(-1)). Cd concentrations of the litter were about twofold greater than the concentrations in the leaves (0.67+/-0.07 to 18.98+/-7.00 mg kg(-1)). The bioaccumulation factor (leaf/soil concentration ratio) increased significantly from 0.70+/-0.10 (control) to 1.1+/-0.17 (100 mg Cd l(-1)), but decreased again at the highest Cd level (200 mg Cd l(-1)) toward 0.74+/-0.34, which was not significantly different from the control. The low transfer of Cd from soil to above-ground organs at higher soil Cd concentrations indicates an exclusion mechanism. The leaf/root Cd concentration ratio (translocation factor) shows no significant relationship to increasing soil contamination. Only 4-7% of the total plant Cd was accumulated in the above-ground tissues. The phytoextraction potential (total Cd removed from soil) within three growing seasons ranged from 0.11 to 0.25% of the total soil Cd. Total output in above-ground living and dead plant material of C. epigejos would be approximately 20 g ha(-1) a(-1) for the lowest contamination level (+20 mg Cd per pot) and approximately 275 g ha(-1) a(-1) for the highest contamination level (+200 mg Cd per pot). This is within the range where an application for phytoextraction of Cd has been suggested by other authors. However, we conclude that the practical use of C. epigejos for phytoremediation is not mainly in the field of phytoextraction, but phytostabilization. C. epigejos has the capability to structurally stabilize the soil and reduce Cd contamination spread due to erosion. The uptake of the available Cd pool and accumulation in below-ground biomass may further prevent leaching into ground water.