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Selenium application alters soil cadmium bioavailability and reduces its accumulation in rice grown in Cd-contaminated soil

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Abstract

Selenium (Se) alleviates cadmium (Cd) accumulation in several plants. Nevertheless, it is still unclear why it has such effect. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of Se on soil Cd bioavailability, and Cd accumulation in flooded rice plants, and to determine the mechanisms underlying these effects. Concentration of Cd and Se in different rice tissues was determined along Cd and Se concentrations in the soil solution and soil Cd fractions. Results showed that exogenous selenite and selenate treatments significantly increased rice grain Se by 4.25- and 2.39-fold and decreased Cd by 36.5% and 25.3% relative to control treatment, respectively. The addition of Se to Cd-contaminated soil significantly decreased total Cd concentration in the soil solution by 11.2–13.0%, increased soil pH by 0.06–0.32 units, and enhanced soil Cd immobilization in relation to control. Exogenous Se also reduced diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-Cd, exchangeable, and residual Cd but increased the levels of Cd bound to carbonate and iron and manganese oxides. Thus, amending Cd-contaminated soil with Se may help decrease Cd content as well as increase Se levels in rice grain, as Se may mitigate Cd accumulation in rice plants by increasing soil pH, reducing Cd bioavailability, and inhibiting Cd translocation from roots to shoots.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41601343), Central Public Research Institute Basic Fund for Research and Development (No.2016-szjj-HQQ), and the Funds for Science and Technology Innovation Project from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (No. CAAS-XTCX-2016018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Innovation Team of Remediation of Heavy Metal-Contaminated Farmlands, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Tianjin, 300191, People’s Republic of China

    Qingqing Huang, Yingming Xu, Yiyun Liu, Xu Qin, Rong Huang & Xuefeng Liang

  2. Key Laboratory of Original Environmental Quality of MOA, Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Tianjin, 300191, People’s Republic of China

    Qingqing Huang, Yingming Xu, Yiyun Liu, Xu Qin, Rong Huang & Xuefeng Liang

Authors
  1. Qingqing Huang
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  2. Yingming Xu
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  3. Yiyun Liu
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  4. Xu Qin
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  5. Rong Huang
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  6. Xuefeng Liang
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Correspondence to Yingming Xu.

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Responsible editor: Elena Maestri

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Huang, Q., Xu, Y., Liu, Y. et al. Selenium application alters soil cadmium bioavailability and reduces its accumulation in rice grown in Cd-contaminated soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 31175–31182 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3068-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3068-x

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