REDUCED UPTAKE OF Cd AND Pb BY Miscanthus sinensis x giganteus CULTIVATED ON POLLUTED SOIL AND ITS USE AS BIOFUEL

Abstract

The cultivation of Miscanthus sinensis x giganteus on a polluted soil near Copsa Mica -Romania has started in 2008. Since then every March and August the roots and stems have been analyzed, showing a very low amount of heavy metals in the aerial parts in February, when the harvesting takes place. The combustion properties of the material are similar to those of lignite, but without sulphur and with low ash amount. Because cultivation of edible plants poses the risk of heavy metal entering into the food chain, and soil remediation is unlikely, the cultivation of this plant and its subsequent usage as biofuel could become a feasible solution for the sustainable use of the soils polluted with Cd and Pb.

Environmental hazards related toMiscanthusxgiganteuscultivation on heavy metal contaminated soil

“…During the last two harvest periods lower Cd concentrations in the biomass were observed. The Cd concentrations were also two-fold higher than reported by other authors in the case of miscanthus growth on soil with a similar content of cadmium (Barbu et al, 2009(Barbu et al, , 2010. The study confirmed the positive correlation between concentrations of heavy metals in the soil and their concentrations in the aerial parts of M. giganteus.…”

“…Meers et al (2010) reported that maize (a monocotyledonous plant as miscanthus) cultivated for energy purposes accumulate 4 to10-fold lower amount of Zn in the biomass. Barbu et al (2009Barbu et al ( , 2010 indicate that Miscanthus x giganteus can be successfully cultivated on HM contaminated soil as a safe energy crop. Our previous studies conducted on both clean and polluted soils showed that the uptake of metals strongly depended on the level of bioavailable forms.…”

Metal, nutrient and biomass accumulation during the growing cycle of Miscanthus established on metal‐contaminated soils

“…This confirms that M. × giganteus is a metal excluder, i.e. , metal concentrations in its shoots are generally more or less independent from soil metal pools ( Barbu et al., 2013; Pavel et al, 2014). Moreover, the percentage and not concentration of exchangeable, water and acid‐soluble fraction was lower in M500 than in M200 soil (Table 3).…”

“…Studies of the metal concentrations in Miscanthus aboveground biomass from contaminated soils have only focused on late harvest but not on the metal composition in the standing biomass across the growth cycle ( Barbu et al, 2013; Pogrzeba et al, 2013). High Zn concentrations are usually found in shoots regardless of the degree of soil contamination ( Nsanganwimana et al, 2014), and for Cd and Pb in case of highly contaminated soils ( Kocoń and Matyka , 2012; Pogrzeba et al, 2013).…”

Agronomic Practices for Improving Gentle Remediation of Trace Element-Contaminated Soils

“…The attraction lies in their wide climatic adaptability, low production costs, suitability to marginal lands, relatively low water requirements, low nutrient and agrochemical needs, and possible environmental benefits such as the potential for C storage through their deep and well-developed root system (Zegada-Lizarazu et al 2010). Miscanthus sinensis x giganteus has been cultivated in field trials on a polluted soil near Copsa Mica (Romania) since 2008, and show low metal(loid) concentrations in aerial tissues (Barbu et al 2013). The low TE uptake and transfer from soil to shoots, combined with a potential use in bioenergy, make these species attractive candidates for phytostabilization options.…”