Estimation of maximum permissible levels of cadmium in a light soil by using cereal plants

Abstract

A pot experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to establish the threshold level of Cd in a light soil planted with cereals. During three consecutive years barley, wheat, rye, and corn were grown in the soil treated with 2.5; 5; 25 Μg g⁻¹ of Cd applied in sulphate form. The Cd concentration of 5 Μg g⁻¹ (plus native Cd content of the soil) was considered as the maximum permissible Cd level in a soil for the soil-plant systems studied. Besides the estimation of total Cd concentrations, several forms of Cd in soils (exchangeable, carbonate, Fe-Mn oxides, organic, and residual) were determined by mean of sequential extraction to define the phytoavailable form of Cd in the soil. The Cd concentration in studied plants increased with the doses of this metal in soil but to different extents for various plant species and various plant parts. The highest Cd enrichment ratios (ER) were found for wheat and corn leaves (2 to 3), whereas, the lowest ERs were detected for corn and rye grains (0.05 to 0.2) grown at the treated soils. All samples of the control plants had ER below 1. A close relationship was found between Cd content of plants and the exchangeable form of Cd in soil, which indicates that this form of the element is readily available for plants. The proposed maximum permissible level of Cd (5 Μg g⁻¹ of added metal plus native Cd content of soils) in light soils proved to be too high for cereal plants. The threshold concentration for light soil should not exceed 3 Μg g⁻¹.