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Dissipation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and microbial activity in a field soil planted with perennial ryegrass

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Abstract

Dissipation and plant uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated agricultural soil planted with perennial ryegrass were investigated in a field experiment. After two seasons of grass cultivation the mean concentration of 12 PAHs in soil decreased by 23.4% compared with the initial soil. The 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-ring PAHs were dissipated by 30.9%, 25.5%, 21.2%, and 16.3% from the soil, respectively. Ryegrass shoots accumulated about 280 μg·kg−1, shoot dry matter biomass reached 2.48 × 104 kg·ha−1, and plant uptake accounted for about 0.99% of the decrease in PAHs in the soil. Significantly higher soil enzyme activities and microbial community functional diversity were observed in planted soil than that in the unplanted control. The results suggest that planting ryegrass may promote the dissipation of PAHs in long-term contaminated agricultural soil, and plant-promoted microbial degradation may be a main mechanism of phytoremediation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Dengqiang Fu, Ying Teng, Yuanyuan Shen, Mingming Sun, Chen Tu, Yongming Luo & Zhengao Li

  2. Agri-Environment Branch, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Newforge Lane, Belfast, BT9 5PX, UK

    Peter Christie

Authors
  1. Dengqiang Fu
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  2. Ying Teng
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  3. Yuanyuan Shen
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  4. Mingming Sun
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  5. Chen Tu
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  6. Yongming Luo
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  7. Zhengao Li
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  8. Peter Christie
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Correspondence to Yongming Luo.

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Fu, D., Teng, Y., Shen, Y. et al. Dissipation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and microbial activity in a field soil planted with perennial ryegrass. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 6, 330–335 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-011-0366-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-011-0366-7

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