Influence of activated charcoal amendment to contaminated soil on dieldrin and nutrient uptake by cucumbers.
Activated charcoal (AC) amendments have been suggested as a promising, cost-effective method to immobilize organic contaminants in soil. We performed pot experiments over two years with cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) grown in agricultural soil with 0.07 mg kg(-1) of weathered dieldrin and 0, 200, 400, and 800 mg AC per kg soil. Dieldrin fresh weight concentrations in cucumber fruits were significantly reduced from 0.012 to an average of 0.004 mg kg(-1), and total uptake from 2 to 1 microg in the 800 mg kg(-1) AC treatment compared to the untreated soil. The treatment effects differed considerably between the two years, due to different meteorological conditions. AC soil treatments did neither affect the availability of nutrients to the cucumber plants nor their yield (total fruit wet weight per pot). Thus, some important prerequisites for the successful application of AC amendments to immobilize organic pollutants in agricultural soils can be considered fulfilled.
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland.
Isabel
I
Hilber
Gabriela S
GS
Wyss
Paul
P
Mäder
Thomas D
TD
Bucheli
Isabel
I
Meier
Lea
L
Vogt
Rainer
R
Schulin
D000383:Agriculture; D002606:Charcoal / Q000737:chemistry*; D018553:Cucumis sativus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D004026:Dieldrin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
D007306:Insecticides; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002606:Charcoal; D004026:Dieldrin