title: Slash-and-char: An ancient agricultural technique holds new promise for management of soils contaminated by Cd, Pb and Zn.
abstract: Heavy metal contamination of agricultural soils is of worldwide concern. Unfortunately, there are currently no efficient and sustainable approaches for addressing this concern. In this study, we conducted a field experiment in which an agricultural soil highly contaminated by cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) was treated on-site by an ancient agricultural technique, 'slash-and-char', that was able to convert the biomass feedstock (rice straw) into biochar in only one day. We found evidence that in comparison to the untreated soil, the treated soil was associated with decreased bioavailability of the heavy metals and increased vegetable yields. Most importantly, the treatment was also coupled with dramatic reductions in concentrations of the heavy metals in vegetables, which made it possible to produce safe crops in this highly contaminated soil. Collectively, our results support the idea that slash-and-char offers new promise for management of soils contaminated by Cd, Pb and Zn.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China; College of Environment Economics, Shanxi University of Finance & Economics, Taiyuan 030006, PR China.
authors.forename: Li-Qin
authors.initials: LQ
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
authors.forename: Pu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
authors.forename: Shao-Peng
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
authors.forename: Jia-Liang
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Xin
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
authors.forename: Wen-Hua
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
authors.forename: Wen-Sheng
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China. Electronic address: lijtian@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jin-Tian
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism; D002606:Charcoal / Q000737:chemistry*; D002681:China; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D007854:Lead / Q000378:metabolism; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000254:growth & development; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C540010:biochar; D002104:Cadmium; D002606:Charcoal; D007854:Lead; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Ancient agricultural technique; Biochar; Cd; Multiple contamination; Pb; Rice straw; Safe crop production; Slash-and-char; Zn