title: Phytotoxicity assessment of phenanthrene, pyrene and their mixtures by a soil-based seedling emergence test.
abstract: Seedling emergence tests were conducted in a meadow brown soil using five plant species (i.e., Chinese cabbage, green onion, tomato, turnip and wheat) to determine the phytotoxicity of phenanthrene, pyrene and their mixtures. The soil was amended with up to 1000 mg/kg soil of phenanthrene or 600 mg/kg soil of pyrene. Seedling emergence and root growth were measured. The results indicated that root elongation was more sensitive than seedling emergence. Root length decreased with increasing phenanthrene or pyrene concentrations( p < or = 0.05). Phenanthrene was more phytotoxic than pyrene. The lowest observable adverse effect concentration (LOAEC) was 10 mg/kg for phenanthrene when tested with green onion, and 50 mg/kg for pyrene when tested with wheat. Among the five species, wheat was found to be the most sensitive. When amended jointly at or below their respective LOAEC, phenanthrene and pyrene produced a synergistic toxic effect.
authors.affiliation: Key Open Laboratory of Ecological Processes, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China. songyufang@iae.ac.cn
authors.forename: Yu-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Qi-Xing
authors.initials: QX
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Tie-Heng
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D010616:Phenanthrenes / Q000633:toxicity*; D063245:Plant Development; D018517:Plant Roots; D010944:Plants / Q000187:drug effects*; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000633:toxicity*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D010616:Phenanthrenes; D011721:Pyrenes; C031181:phenanthrene; C030984:pyrene