Metal, nutrient and biomass accumulation during the growing cycle of Miscanthus established on metal‐contaminated soils

Abstract

The energy crop Miscanthus presents high potentials for phytomanagement. Its shoot yield and nutrient accumulation has been extensively characterized in uncontaminated agricultural soils, while very little is known for metal‐contaminated conditions. This study aimed at assessing potential differences in dry matter and metal and nutrient accumulation of the standing aerial biomass in Miscanthus (M. × giganteus) growing in situ on agricultural plots presenting different soil Cd, Pb, and Zn concentrations. Plant samplings were conducted monthly along the growing period from May to December. Cadmium, Pb, Zn, and the concentrations of the nutrients N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na were determined in leaves and stems separately. During the growing phase, the maximum dry matter was reached in early in autumn. Whatever the organ, Cd and Zn concentrations were higher on contaminated than on uncontaminated plots. During summer and autumn, Zn and Pb concentrations were higher in leaves than in stems whereas Cd concentrations did not significantly differ between the organs. Concentrations of N, P, K, and Mg decreased across the study period whereas those of Ca and Na increased. Overall, metal and nutrient concentrations depended on plant organ and its development stage. The dry matter and nutrient accumulation patterns were not different between contaminated and uncontaminated plots. The significance of these findings is discussed in light of best phytomanagement practices and potential uses of Miscanthus biomass.

Macroelements and heavy metals content in energy crops cultivated on contaminated soil under different fertilization—case studies on autumn harvest

“…This influence is dependent on the plant species, cultivar, concentration of HMs in soil (medium), time of exposure, and the environment or medium in which plants were cultivated (Zhang et al 2002 ; Goncalves et al 2009 ). Additionally, there is shortage of papers showing the influence of HMs on primary mineral macronutrients in S. pectinata (Helios et al 2014 ) and M. x giganteus (Nsanganwimana et al 2016 ).…”

“…They however usually correspond to annual plants cultivated for food and medical purposes (Singh et al 1990 ; Zhang et al 2002 , Bello et al 2004 ; Khan and Bano 2016 ). Additionally, there is a lack of papers considering the effect of heavy metals on mineral nutrient status, that would refer to field tested perennial grasses cultivated for biomass feedstock on contaminated arable land (Nsanganwimana et al 2016 ).…”

Multiyear phytoremediation and dynamic of foliar metal(loid)s concentration during application of Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu to polluted soil from Bakar, Croatia

“…Guarino and Sciarrilli (2017) reported successful application of phytoremediation using two plants with high annual biomass yield: Helianthus annuus L. and Brassica juncea L. when a considerable amount of toxic elements (Cd, Hg, Zn) were taken from soils of the industrial area of Porto Marghera. Phytotechnology with another high biomass yield crop M.×giganteus was proposed for revitalizing of post-mining, technosols, and smelting sites (Wanat et al 2013;Chaney et al 2014;Nsanganwimana et al 2016). Recently, this plant was applied (Kharitonov et al 2019) for phytoremediation of the industrial zone in Ukraine to soil contended large concentrations of metal(loid)s, industrial disposal in Serbia (Drazic et al 2017), and post-industrial heavy polluted by metalloids post-mining sites in Poland (Rusinowski et al 2019).…”

Phytomanagement and Remediation of Cu-Contaminated Soils by High Yielding Crops at a Former Wood Preservation Site: Sunflower Biomass and Ionome

“…A number of perceived or actual barriers or impediments related to technical issues and stakeholder perceptions is limiting on site phytomanagement application (Cundy et al, 2015;Bert et al, 2017b;Montpetit and Lachapelle, 2017). For overcoming such barriers, several sets of field trials have been either implemented or developed in Europe, notably for metal(loid)contaminated sites with funding from European projects, i.e., Greenland, PhytoSUDOE, Intense, and Miscomar, and national environment agencies, e.g., Ademe in France (Mench et al, 2010;Kidd et al, 2015;Nsanganwimana et al, 2016;Bert et al, 2017a,b;Friesl-Hanl et al, 2017;Krzyzak et al, 2017;Quintela-Sabarís et al, 2017;ADEME, 2018). Here the purpose was to assess the long-term efficiency and limits of phytomanagement options at a wood preservation site with sandy Cu-contaminated soils.…”