Figure - available from: Biogeochemistry
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Relationship between soil extractability (soil water-extract/soil concentration ratio, 0–30 cm soil depth) and soil solution/soil concentration ratio (A) and between soil–plant transfer (TFsoil–plant) and soil extractability (B) of trace elements (red) and rare earth elements (REE, from green for LREE to blue for HREE), as well as the average REE (open circle), in an intercropping cover crop soil–plant system

Relationship between soil extractability (soil water-extract/soil concentration ratio, 0–30 cm soil depth) and soil solution/soil concentration ratio (A) and between soil–plant transfer (TFsoil–plant) and soil extractability (B) of trace elements (red) and rare earth elements (REE, from green for LREE to blue for HREE), as well as the average REE (open circle), in an intercropping cover crop soil–plant system

Source publication
Article
Full-text available
Transfer of trace elements, such as toxic metals, from soil to plant is a corner stone for risk assessment. Rare earth elements (REE) are frequently used as environmental tracers to understand biogeochemical processes in the soil–plant system. In this study, we combined trace element and REE measurements in the soil–plant continuum to evaluate the...

Citations

... The bioconcentration factor (BCF) reflects root ability to accumulate HMs from the soil (Arbalestrie et al. 2022). It was estimated using the following formula: ...
Article
Full-text available
Atriplex halimus L. is a promising xero-halophyte species for phytoremediation purposes but displays high levels of genetic variability. As an attempt to select uniform material suitable for phytomanagement, five clones were established by cuttings from three non-polluted sites (Tunis, Nabeul and Sfax), one moderately Pb-polluted site (Sousse) and a highly polymetallic polluted mining site (Gafsa). Cuttings were cultivated during 90 days under controlled conditions on soil issued from the most polluted area. The clone from Gafsa accumulated higher concentrations of metals in roots (Cr) and leaves (Cd, Sr, Zn and Cu) than other clones. Gafsa showed the highest absorption efficiency, translocation factor, bioconcentration factor and bioaccumulation coefficient compared to other clones but displayed the lowest relative growth rate (RGR) value while the highest RGR was found in the clone from Sousse. Heavy metal tolerance in Gafsa was not related to a more efficient management of oxidative stress or higher concentration of phytochelatins. Total amount of Sr and Zn removed from the substrate was the highest for Sousse while removal of Cd, Cu, Cr and Ni was the highest for Gafsa. It is concluded that cuttings allow to obtain uniform material for phytoremediation by Atriplex halimus and that combining different clones with complementary properties is an attractive option for phytomanagement of polymetallic polluted soils by this species.
... A study examining various food types from six Chinese provinces found that some vegetables exceeded the safety limits for total REEs (Jiang et al., 2012). Such widespread contamination underscores the urgent need for comprehensive studies on REEs transfer and ecological risks, especially regarding their impact on human health (Li et al., 2013;Gwenzi et al., 2018;Arbalestrie et al., 2022). ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Rare earth elements (REEs) are increasingly recognized as significant environmental pollutants due to their environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, and chronic toxicity. This study assessed REEs pollution in soil, water, and vegetables in an ion-adsorption rare earth mining area in Ganzhou, and evaluated the associated health risks to the local population. Results indicated that the REEs content in soil ranged from 168.58 to 1915.68 mg/kg, with an average of 546.71 mg/kg, substantially surpassing the background level for Jiangxi Province (243.4 mg/kg) and the national average (197.3 mg/kg). Vegetables displayed an average REE content of 23.17 mg/kg in fresh weight, far exceeding the hygiene standard of 0.7 mg/kg. Water samples contained REEs at a concentration of 4.09 µg/L. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of REEs from vegetables exceeded the threshold for subclinical damage, posing potential health risks, particularly for children and adolescents. Further analysis of the adjusted average daily intake (ADI) suggested that while most vegetable consumption remains within safe threshold, the intake of REEs from high-risk vegetables such as pakchoi and radish should be limited.
... Before quantification of trace element concentrations, 100 mg of ground soil samples were digested in an ISO 6 cleanroom (Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain) in a Teflon bottle (Savillex). We applied a four-step procedure (HNO 3 / HF, H 2 O 2 , HNO 3 /HCl, and HNO 3 ) using suprapure chemicals and high purity Milli-Q water (Arbalestrie et al. 2022). Heating steps were fixed at 90 °C and evaporation steps at 40 °C. ...
Article
Full-text available
Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. In addition to its herbicidal effect, glyphosate is a chelating agent that can form complexes with trace elements. Yet, agricultural soils can be contaminated with both organic and mineral substances, questioning the possible influence of glyphosate application on the trace element mobility. In this context, we specifically studied the extractability of trace elements in uncontaminated and metal-contaminated agricultural soils by adding glyphosate, formulated glyphosate, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA, a degradation product of glyphosate) in batch experiments from 0 to 100 mg L⁻¹. Results showed that, on average, glyphosate enhanced the extractability of the elements considered (e.g., As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) at 20 and 100 mg L⁻¹. Surprisingly, the uncontaminated soil highlighted the highest influence of glyphosate compared to the contaminated ones, likely resulting from a higher natural element extractability in the contaminated soils. Although formulated glyphosate presented an overall higher impact than unformulated glyphosate, it was evidenced that AMPA showed lower influence meaning that glyphosate degradation is beneficial to limit deleterious effects.
Article
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a widespread beverage plant that prefers aluminum-enriched acidic soils. However, rare earth elements (REEs) might be highly phyto-available in these soils. With the increasing demands for REEs in high-technology industries, understanding the dynamics of REEs in the environment is essential. Thus, this study identified the total concentration of REEs in the root-zone soils and corresponding tea buds (n = 35) collected from tea gardens in Taiwan. Additionally, the labile REEs in the soils were extracted with 1 M KCl, 0.1 M HCl, and 0.05 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to elucidate the fractionation tendency of REEs in the soil-plant system and the relationships between REEs and Al in the tea buds. The concentration of light REEs (LREEs) was higher than those of medium REEs (MREEs) and heavy REEs (HREEs) in all soil and tea bud samples. According to the upper continental crust (UCC) normalization, MREEs and HREEs were more abundant than LREEs in the tea buds. Furthermore, REEs remarkably increased with increasing Al in the tea buds, whereas the linear correlations between Al and MREEs and HREEs were stronger than between LREEs. Compared with LREEs, the extractabilities of MREEs and HREEs by all single extractants in the soils were higher, coinciding with their higher UCC-normalization-based enrichments in the tea buds. Moreover, the 0.1 M HCl- and 0.05 M EDTA-extractable REEs were affected by soil properties and significantly correlated with the total REEs in the tea buds. The concentration of REEs in the tea buds was successfully predicted by empirical equations of extractable REEs with 0.1 M HCl and 0.05 M EDTA, as well as general soil properties including pH, organic carbon, dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate-extractable iron, aluminum, and phosphorus. However, this prediction should be further verified using many soil and tea types in the future.
Article
Background Analyzing the pollution and health risk of rare earth elements (REEs) in crop-growing soils around rare earth deposits can facilitate the improvement of REE mining-influenced area. In this study, pollution status, fraction and anomaly, plant accumulation characteristics, and potential risks of REEs (including heavy and light rare earth elements, HREEs and LREEs) in C. sinensis planting soil near ion-adsorption deposits in southern Ganzhou were analyzed. The influence of the soil environment on REEs in soil and fruit of C. sinensis was also explored. Methods The geo-accumulation index (I geo ) and ecological risk index(RI) were used to analyze the pollution potential and ecological risks of REEs in soils, respectively. Health risk index and translocation factor (TF) were applied to analyze the accumulation and health risks of REEs in fruit of C. sinensis . The influence of soil factors on REEs in soil and fruit of C. sinensis were determined via correlation and redundancy analysis. Results Comparison with background values and assessment of I geo and RI indicated that the soil was polluted by REEs, albeit at varying degrees. Fractionation between LREEs and HREEs occurred, along with significant positive Ce anomaly and negative Eu anomaly. With TF values < 1, our results suggest that C. sinensis has a weak ability to accumulate REEs in its fruit. The concentrations of REEs in fruit differed between LREEs and HREEs, with content of HREE in fruit ordered as Jiading > Anxi > Wuyang and of LREE in fruit higher in Wuyang. Correlation and redundancy analysis indicated that K 2 O, Fe 2 O 3 and TOC are important soil factors influencing REE accumulation by C. sinensis , with K 2 O positively related and Fe 2 O 3 and TOC negatively related to the accumulation process.