Effect of Biochar on the Growth, Photosynthesis, Antioxidant System and Cadmium Content of Mentha piperita ‘Chocolate’ and Mentha spicata in Cadmium-Contaminated Soil

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a common heavy metal contaminant which seriously affects plant growth and environmental safety. Biochar, as an organic soil amendment, has been shown to effectively mitigate Cd damage to plants. To study the effectiveness of biochar on mitigating Cd stress, Mentha piperita ‘chocolate’ and Mentha spicata were used in a pot experiment of Cd stress with a CdCl2 solution (10 mg Kg−1), while a biochar suspension (0, 40, 80, and 160 g Kg−1) was applied to the soil. The effects of Cd on the growth, physiological and biochemical properties, and Cd content in plant tissues of both mint species were found to be significant. The application of 40 g Kg−1, 80 g Kg−1, 160 g Kg−1 biochar significantly alleviated Cd damage to both mint species, increased plant height, leaf length, leaf width, biomass, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll content, and decreased antioxidant enzyme activities (including superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase) and non-enzymatic antioxidant content (including flavonoids and total phenols). Biochar effectively reduced the Cd uptake by plants and decreased the migration and transformation capacity of Cd in the soil–plant system. In addition, the available nitrogen (available N), available phosphorus (available P), available potassium (available K), and pH in the soil increased after biochar application compared to non-biochar amended soil. The addition of 160 g Kg−1 biochar was shown to have the best performance of the application rates in this experiment and may be considered as an effective way to reduce the damage caused by Cd contamination to M. piperita ‘chocolate’ and M. spicata.

Ameliorative Effect of Wood Biochar for Cadmium Stress on Soybean (Glycine Max L. Merrill) Growth and Yield

“…Dadasoglu et al (2022) observed that Cd stress led to a decrease in seedling height and leaf area of the bean, whereas the biochar treatment could effectively increase plant height and leaf area in Cd-stressed bean plants. Further, the positive effects of biochar on plant growth performance under Cd contamination was similarly obtained in studies on wheat (Ali et al, 2019) and mint species (Jiang et al, 2022).…”

Biochar and organic fertilizer drive the bacterial community to improve the productivity and quality of Sophora tonkinensis in cadmium-contaminated soil

“…Recent research has shown that biochar is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly additive for stabilizing and remediating heavy metal-contaminated soils ( Yang L. et al, 2020 ; Yang Y. W. et al, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2022 ). A mixture of biochar and organic fertilizer can effectively address issues of soil heavy metal pollution, nutrient imbalance, and growth inhibition of Mentha crispa L. ( Jiang et al, 2022 ; Ghassemi and Farhangi, 2023 ), purslane ( Han et al, 2022 ), alfalfa ( Kareem et al, 2022 ), and rapeseed ( Zhang C. et al, 2023 ; Zhang N. H. et al, 2023 ; Zhang X. et al, 2023 ; Zhang Z. et al, 2023 ; Zhang K. et al, 2023 ). We also found that the mixed application of biochar and organic fertilizer reduced both TCd in Sophora fields and Cd content in Sophora ( Figures 1A , H ; Table 3 ).…”

Growth of mint (Mentha spicata L.) on various biochar and liquid organic fertilizers

“…Previous research by [5] showed that giving rice husk biochar was able to increase plant height, leaf length, and leaf width of the mint. Previous research by [6] by giving LOF paitan can increase the number of leaves, number of branches, fresh weight of plants, and dry weight of mint plants (Mentha arvensis L.).…”