ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Fractions and Bioavailability of Cadmium
and Nickel to Carrot Crops in Oasis Soi
Xia Wang1, Zhongren Nan1, Qin Liao, Wenguang Ding2, Wenfei Wu
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1College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
2Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education),
Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2012;21(6):1867-1874
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The Hexi Corridor is the most important area for desert oasis farming in northwestern China. Due to persistent
drought and water shortage, sewage irrigation is widely used in this area. Heavy metal pollutants contained
in the sewage could remain in the surface layer of agricultural soil and accumulate in plants. Our
research used pot experiments to evaluate carrot crop (Daucus carota L.) production, heavy metal uptake, and
bioavailability under single cadmium (Cd) or nickel (Ni) contamination and compound (Cd-Ni) contaminations
in irrigated desert oasis soil. The results show that Cd existed in the Fe-Mn oxide bound fraction and Ni
presented in the residual fraction mainly in original (control) soils. Low concentrations of Cd could promote
the growth of carrots, while high concentrations of Cd significantly restrain the growth of the crops. However,
Ni had a poisonous effect on the carrots even at the lowest concentrations. There was an antagonistic effect
between Cd and Ni in the compound contaminated oasis soils. The bio-concentration factors (BCF) of Cd in
carrots were higher than those of Ni, and the BCF of Cd and Ni in single-contaminated soils were higher than
those in compound-contaminated soils. Cd and Ni contents in different parts of the carrots were correlated with
the exchangeable fraction in contaminated oasis soils, which would cause potential risk to human health
through the food chain.