title: Phytoremediation of urban soils contaminated with trace metals using Noccaea caerulescens: comparing non-metallicolous populations to the metallicolous 'Ganges' in field trials.
abstract: Urban soil contamination with trace metals is a major obstacle to the development of urban agriculture as crops grown in urban gardens are prone to accumulate trace metals up to toxic levels for human consumption. Phytoextraction is considered as a potentially cost-effective alternative to conventional methods such as excavation. Field trials of phytoextraction with Noccaea caerulescens were conducted on urban soils contaminated with Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn (respectively around 2, 150-200, 400-500, and 400-700 μg g-1of dry soil). Metallicolous (Ganges population) and non-metallicolous (NMET) populations were compared for biomass production and trace metal uptake. Moreover, we tested the effect of compost and fertilizer addition. Maximal biomass of 5 t ha-1was obtained with NMET populations on some plots. Compared to Ganges- the high Cd-accumulating ecotype from South of France often used in phytoextraction trials- NMET populations have an advantage for biomass production and for Zn accumulation, with an average Zn uptake of 2.5 times higher. The addition of compost seems detrimental due to metal immobilization in the soil with little or no effect on plant growth. In addition to differences between populations, variations of growth and metal accumulation were mostly explained by soil Cd and Zn concentrations and texture. Our field trials confirm the potential of using N. caerulescens for both Cd and Zn remediation of moderately contaminated soils-with uptake values of up to 200 g Cd ha-1and 47 kg Zn ha-1-and show the interest of selecting the adequate population according to the targeted metal.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Écologie Végétale et Biogéochimie, CP 244, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 av. F. D. Roosevelt, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium. arjacobs@ulb.ac.be.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5952-2581
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Écologie Végétale et Biogéochimie, CP 244, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 av. F. D. Roosevelt, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Drouet
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Sols et Environnement, INRA-Université de Lorraine, 2 avenue de la Forêt de Haye, TSA 40602, F-54518, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy Cédex, France.
authors.forename: Thibault
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sterckeman
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Écologie Végétale et Biogéochimie, CP 244, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 av. F. D. Roosevelt, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nausicaa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Noret
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018533:Biomass; D019607:Brassicaceae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D060146:Ecotype; D005308:Fertilizers; D005602:France; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism*; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Cadmium; Hyperaccumulation; Phytoextraction; Soil remediation; Thlaspi caerulescens; Zinc