Abstract
Since environmental contamination, by heavy metals (HMs), affects human health, crop growth and yield production, finding methods, which may mitigate HMs stress is of significance. Due to their chemical properties, biochars of rice straw and date palm, may ameliorate plant uptake of HMs, for example, in corn as the objective of this research. Incubation and greenhouse experiments were conducted. The greenhouse experiment was a factorial on the basis of a complete randomized block design with three replicates investigating corn uptake of HMs affected by biochar type and percentage (0, 4 and 8%), and HMs including cadmium, zinc, lead and copper, as the most important heavy metals. The experimental treatments significantly affected corn uptake of HMs, and depending on the type of HMs, the effects of biochars were different, as date palm was the more effective one. Nevertheless, with increasing biochar percentage, the effectiveness of rice straw increased even at twice the standard level of HMs (a 30% reduction of cadmium uptake). The second level of date palm significantly decreased corn Zn uptake (158.33 mg kg− 1) compared with the first level (176.50 mg kg− 1). There were positive and significant correlations among the investigated HMs. Soil HMs affected by biochar was also determined. Due to their physicochemical properties (high surface area and abundance of functional groups), the use of rice straw and date palm is recommendable for the amelioration of HMs uptake by corn, since they are able to immobilize HMs and decrease their concentration in the soil.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
All available data have been presented in the manuscript.
References
Abdellah YAY, Shi ZJ, Luo YS, Hou WT, Yang X, Wang RL (2022) Effects of different additives and aerobic composting factors on heavy metal bioavailability reduction and compost parameters: a meta-analysis. Environ Pollut 307:119549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119549
Aborisade MA, Feng A, Zheng X, Oba BT, Kumar A, Battamo AY, Kavwenje S, Liu J, Chen D, Okimiji OP, Ojekunle OZ (2022) Carbothermal reduction synthesis of eggshell-biochar modified with nanoscale zerovalent iron/activated carbon for remediation of soil polluted with lead and cadmium. Environ Nanotechnol Monit Manag 18:100726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enmm.2022.100726
Aborisade MA, Oba BT, Kumar A, Liu J, Chen D, Okimiji OP, Zhao L (2023a) Remediation of metal toxicity and alleviation of toxic metals-induced oxidative stress in Brassica chinensis L using biochar-iron nanocomposites. Plant Soil 493:629–645. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06256-4
Aborisade MA, Geng H, Oba BT, Kumar A, Ndudi EA, Battamo AY, Liu J, Chen D, Okimiji OP, Ojekunle OZ, Yang Y (2023b) Remediation of soil polluted with pb and cd and alleviation of oxidative stress in Brassica rapa plant using nanoscale zerovalent iron supported with coconut-husk biochar. J Plant Physiol 287:154023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2023.154023
Beni AA, Esmaeili A (2020) Biosorption, an efficient method for removing heavy metals from industrial effluents: a review. Environ Technol Innov 17:100503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2019.100503
Bremner JM, Mulvaney CS (1982) Total nitrogen. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeny DR (eds) Methods of Soil Analysis. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp 1119–1123. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.19851480319
Burezq H, Davidson MK (2023) Biochar from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) residues—a critical review. Arab J Geosci 16:101. https://10.0.3.239/s12517-022-11123-0
Cai Q, Xu M, Ma J, Zhang X, Yang G, Long L, Chen C, Wu J, Song C, **ao Y (2023) Improvement of cadmium immobilization in contaminated paddy soil by using ureolytic bacteria and rice straw. Sci Total Environ 874:162594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162594
Chi T, Zuo J, Liu F (2017) Performance and mechanism for cadmium and lead adsorption from water and soil by corn straw biochar. Front Environ Sci Eng 11:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-017-0921-y
Chi W, Nan Q, Liu Y et al (2024) Stress resistance enhancing with biochar application and promotion on crop growth. Biochar 6:43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-024-00336-z
Danesh P, Niaparast P, Ghorbannezhad P, Ali I (2023) Biochar production: recent developments, applications, and challenges. Fuel 337:126889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.126889
Das SK, Ghosh GK, Avasthe R (2023) Biochar application for environmental management and toxic pollutant remediation. Biomass Convers Biorefin 13:555–566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-01078-1
Fang C, Li P, Zhang J, Lu Y et al (2024) Soil cd bioavailability response characteristics to microbes in paddy fields with co-incorporation of milk vetch, rice straw and amendments. Sci Total Environ 935:173306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173306
Gavrilescu M (2022) Enhancing phytoremediation of soils polluted with heavy metals. Curr Opin Biotechnol 74:21–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2021.10.024
Khaliq MA, Alsudays IM, Alhaithloul HAS et al (2024) Biochar impacts on carbon dioxide, methane emission, and cadmium accumulation in rice from Cd-contaminated soils; a meta-analysis. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 274:116204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116204
Laila U, Hussain A, Nazir A, Shafiq M, Bareen FE (2021) Potential application of biochar composite derived from rice straw and animal bones to improve plant growth. Sustainability 13:11104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131911104
Laila U, Nazir A, Bareen FE, Shafiq M (2023) Role of composted tannery solid waste and its autochthonous microbes in enhancing phytoextraction of toxic metals and stress abatement in sunflower. Int J Phytorem 25:229–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/15226514.2022.2070597
Li L, Jia Z, Ma H, Bao W, Li X, Tan H, Xu F, Xu H, Li Y (2019) The effect of two different biochars on remediation of Cd-contaminated soil and cd uptake by Lolium perenne. Environ Geochem Health 41:2067–2080. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00257-y
Liu Z, Xu Z, Xu L, Buyong F, Chay TC, Li Z, Cai Y, Hu B, Zhu Y, Wang X (2022) Modified biochar: synthesis and mechanism for removal of environmental heavy metals. Carbon Res 1:8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44246-022-00007-3
Mathur P, Tripathi DK, Baluska F, Mukherjee S (2022) Molecular mechanisms of auxin mediated regulation of heavy metal and metalloid stress in plants. Environ Exp Bot 196:104796. https://10.0.3.248/j.envexpbot.2022.104796
Miransari M (2011) Hyperaccumulators, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and stress of heavy metals. Biotechnol Adv 29:645–653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2011.04.006
Miransari M, Bahrami HA, Rejali F, Malakouti MJ (2008) Using arbuscular mycorrhiza to alleviate the stress of soil compaction on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth. Soil Biol Biochem 40:1197–1206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.12.014
Nanda S, Kumar G, Mishra R, Joshi RK (2022) Microbe-assisted alleviation of heavy metal toxicity in plants: a review. Geomicrobiol J 39:416–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490451.2021.1979697
Nazir A, Laila UE, Bareen FE, Hameed E, Shafiq M (2021) Sustainable management of peanut shell through biochar and its application as soil ameliorant. Sustainability 13:13796. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413796
Nazir A, Shafiq M, Bareen FE (2022) Fungal biostimulant-driven phytoextraction of heavy metals from tannery solid waste contaminated soils. Int J Phytorem 24:47–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/15226514.2021.1924115
Nelson DW, Sommers LE (1996) Total Carbon, Organic Carbon, and Organic Matter. In: Sparks, DL, Eds., Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 3. Chemical Methods, SSSA Book Series No. 5, SSSA and ASA, Madison, WI, 961–1010. https://10.0.8.88/sssabookser5.3
Olsen SR, Sommers LE (1982) Phosphorus. In: Page AL (ed) Methods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and Microbiological properties. Am Soc Agron, Soil Sci Soc Am, Madison, pp 403–430
Park JH, Choppala GK, Bolan NS, Chung JW, Chuasavathi T (2011) Biochar reduces the bioavailability and phytotoxicity of heavy metals. Plant Soil 348:439–451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0948-y
Qin H, Hu T, Zhai Y, Lu N, Aliyeva J (2020) The improved methods of heavy metals removal by biosorbents: a review. Environ Pollut 258:113777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113777
Rassaei F, Hoodaji M, Abtahi SA (2020a) Fractionation and mobility of cadmium and zinc in calcareous soils of Fars Province, Iran. Arab J Geosci 13:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-06123-x
Rassaei F, Hoodaji M, Abtahi SA (2020b) Cadmium speciation as influenced by soil water content and zinc and the studies of kinetic modeling in two soils textural classes. Int Soil Water Cons Res 8:286–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2020.05.003
Richards LA (1954) Diagnosis and improvement of saline Alkali soils, Agriculture, 160, handbook 60. US Department of Agriculture, Washington DC
Salam AK, Rizki DO, Santa ITD, Supriatin S, Septiana LM, Sarno S, Niswati A (2022) June. The biochar-improved growth-characteristics of corn (Zea mays L.) in a 22-years old heavy-metal contaminated tropical soil. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1034, 012045. https://10.0.4.64/1755-1315/1034/1/012045
Sanka PM, Rwiza MJ, Mtei KM (2020) Removal of selected heavy metal ions from industrial wastewater using rice and corn husk biochar. Water Air Soil Pollut 231:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04624-9
Sharma A, Kapoor D, Gautam S, Landi M, Kandhol N, Araniti F, Ramakrishnan M, Satish L, Singh VP, Sharma P, Bhardwaj R (2022) Heavy metal induced regulation of plant biology: recent insights. Physiol Plant 174:e13688. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.13688
Vuong TX, Stephen J, Nguyen TTT, Cao V, Pham DTN (2023) Insight into the speciation of heavy metals in the contaminated soil incubated with corn cob-derived biochar and apatite. Molecules 28:2225. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28052225
Walsh T (1944) The effect on plant growth of substituting strontium for calcium in acid soils. In Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. B Biol Geologic Chem Sci 50:287–294. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20490840
Wang S, Wu W, Liu F, Liao R, Hu Y (2017) Accumulation of heavy metals in soil-crop systems: a review for wheat and corn. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24:15209–15225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8909-5
Wang Y, Liu Y, Zhan W, Zheng K, Wang J, Zhang C, Chen R (2020) Stabilization of heavy metal-contaminated soils by biochar: challenges and recommendations. Sci Total Environ 729:139060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139060
Wu L, Zhang S, Wang J, Ding X (2020) Phosphorus retention using iron (II/III) modified biochar in saline-alkaline soils: Adsorption, column and field tests. Environ Pollut 261:114223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114223
Yuan C, Gao B, Peng Y, Gao X, Fan B, Chen Q (2021) A meta-analysis of heavy metal bioavailability response to biochar aging: importance of soil and biochar properties. Sci Total Environ 756:144058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144058
Zhang S, Wang J, Zhang Y, Ma J, Huang L, Yu S, Chen L, Song G, Qiu M, Wang X (2021) Applications of water-stable metal-organic frameworks in the removal of water pollutants: a review. Environ Pollut 291:118076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118076
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank very much the International Publisher, Abtinberkeh Scientific Ltd. Company (https://AbtinBerkeh.com), including AbtinBerkeh Academy (https://academy.AbtinBerkeh.com), Isfahan, Iran, for editing the manuscript, and revising it according to the journal format.
Funding
There was not a funding for the present research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare they do not have any conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Yazdani, N., Hoodaji, M., Kalbasi, M. et al. Biochar Amendment for the Alleviation of Heavy Metals Stress in Corn (Zea mays L.) Plants Grown in a Basic Soil. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01873-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01873-z