Byoung-Hwan Seo

An integrated approach to safer plant production on metal contaminated soils using species selection and chemical immobilization

In order to examine the species specific accumulation of heavy metals in medicinal crops, seven different common medicinal plants were cultivated on a Cd (55mgkg(-1)) and Pb (1283mgkg(-1)) contaminated soil. Subsequently, the effect of various immobilizing agents, applied in isolation and in combination, on Cd and Pb uptake by two medicinal plant species was examined. Cadmium and Pb root concentrations in medicinal plants grown in the control soil varied between 0.5 and 2.6mgkg(-1) for Cd and 3.2 and 36.4mgkg(-1) for Pb. The highest accumulation occurred in Osterici Radix (Ostericum koreanum) and Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and the lowest in Yam (Dioscorea batatas). Application of immobilizing agents significantly reduced both Cd and Pb concentrations in all medicinal plants examined, where the most effective single immobilizing agent was lime fertilizer (LF). Application of combination treatments involving sorption agents such as compost together with lime further decreased Cd and Pb concentrations from 1.3 and 25.3mgkg(-1) to 0.2 and 4.3mgkg(-1), respectively, which was well below the corresponding WHO guidelines. Thus appropriate immobilizing agents in combination with species selection can be practically used for safer medicinal plant production.

Distribution of Phytoavailable Heavy Metals in the Korean Agricultural Soils Affected by the Abandoned Mining Sites and Soil Properties Influencing on the Phytoavailable Metal Pools

Absorption and accumulation of heavy metals in plants were determined by phytoavailable contents rather than total contents of heavy metals. Therefore, phytoavailability-based management protocol should be prepared for safe food crop production in contaminated agricultural lands. This study was conducted to understand the distribution and phytoavailability of heavy metal in the Korean agricultural soils affected by abandoned mining sites along with investigation of soil properties (soil pH, OM, DOC, clay content, Al/Fe/Mn content) influencing on the metal phytoavailability. For this, 142 agricultural soils located nearby 39 abandoned mining sites distributed in five province in Korea, were analyzed. Among the four different heavy metals, cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) appeared to exist in more phytoavailable form than cupper (Cu) and lead (Pb). Soil pH was the main factor governing phytoavailable Cd, Pb, and Zn showing positive relationship with partitioning coefficients of the corresponding metals; Cd (r = 0.66, P < 0.001), Pb (r = 0.70, P < 0.001), and Zn (r = 0.62, P < 0.001). This implied higher phytoavailability of the corresponding metals with higher soil pH. In contrast, phytoavailability of Cu (r = 0.41, p < 0.01) was only negatively related with soil DOC (dissolved organic carbon).

Comparison of Single Extractions for Evaluation of Heavy Metal Phytoavailability in Soil

BACKGROUND: Consensus of heavy metal phytoavailability in soils needs to be introduced for soil management protocols in relation to safer food production in the contaminated agricultural soils. For this, setting up the method for evaluation of metal phytoavailability in soil is an essential prerequisite. METHODS AND RESULTS: The current study was carried to select a proper single extraction method for determination of phytoavailable metal concentration in soil. Two extraction methods were examined including 1 M extraction and 0.01 M extraction methods using 142 soil samples collected from the agricultural soils nearby abandoned mining area in Korea. Corelation analysis was conducted between phytoavailable metal concentrations and soil properties potentially influencing on the metal phytoavailability. Both methods showed similar significance (p extraction rather than using extraction. CONCLUSION(S): It appeared that 0.01 M extraction was better option for determination of phytoavailable metals in soils and further study to test the efficiency of this method is required in combination with plant uptake.

Heavy Metal Uptake by Balloon Flower Together with Investigating Soil Properties and Heavy Metal Concentrations in the Cultivated Soils

Soil properties and heavy metal (HM) concentrations in the field soils where balloon flowers (Platycodon grandiflorum, BF) were cultivated, were investigated together with HM (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) accumulation by the BF roots. Basically, in most soils examined (51-97% among 65 samples), the chemical properties including soil pH, organic matter, available-P, and exchangeable cation contents appeared to be lower than the optimal ranges for balloon flower cultivation. There were no samples exceeding the standard limits for HM in soils. Instead, the total HM concentration levels in soils appeared to be maintained at around background levels for general soil in Korea. This implied that elevated HM accumulation in the soils caused by any possible input sources was unlikely. Even though the BF cultivated soils were not contaminated by HM, it was appeared that substantial amount of Cd was accumulated in BF roots with 1.5% and 35% roots samples exceeding the standard limits legislated for BF root (0.81 mg kg -1 DW) and herbal plants (0.3 mg kg -1 DW), respectively. This implied that the soil HM standard limits based on the total concentration does not reflect well the metal accumulation by plants and also it is likely that the Cd standard limits for BF and herbal plants is too restrict.

Application of soil amendments to contaminated soils for heavy metal immobilization and improved soil quality—a critical review

ABSTRACT Today, soil metal pollution has become a significant environmental issue of great public concern. This is because soil is both a major sink for heavy metal(loid)s (HMs) released into the environment, by both pedogenic and anthropogenic activities; and also a major source of food chain contamination mainly through plant uptake and animal transfer. In addition, HM contamination of soil leads to negative impacts on soil characteristics and function by disturbing both soil biological and physiochemical properties (e.g. extreme soil pH, poor soil structure and soil fertility and lack of soil microbial activity). This eventually leads to decreased crop production. Various soil remediation techniques have been successfully employed to reduce the risks associated with HMs efflux into soil. Among these, the use of low-cost and environmentally safe inorganic and organic amendments for the in-situ immobilization of HMs has become increasingly popular. Immobilization agents have successfully reduced the availability of metal ions through a variety of adsorption, complexation, precipitation, and redox reactions. Soil amendments can also be a source of nutrients and thus can also act as a soil conditioner, improving the soil’s physiochemical properties and fertility, resulting in enhanced plant establishment in metal contaminated soils. This article critically reviews the use of immobilizing agents in HM contaminated agricultural and mining soils paying particular attention to metal immobilization chemistry and the effects of soil amendments on common soil quality parameters.

Distribution of Cd and Pb Accumulated in Medicinal Plant Roots and Their Cultivation Soils

In general, plant roots accumulate more heavy metals than the above ground organs such as leaf, stem, and fruit. This implies that root medicinal plants would be an issue with excessive heavy metal accumulation. Therefore, the current study was carried out to investigate the distribution of heavy metal (focused on Cd and Pb) concentrations in soils and medicinal plant roots grown in different region of Korea. Total 293 samples for each soil and plant were collected along the national wide. Soil pH, total and phytoavailable metal concentrations (1 M NH₄NO₃ extracted) in soils were determined and heavy metal concentrations in root of the medicinal plants were analyzed. Heavy metal concentrations of the soil samples studied were not exceeded standard limits legislated in ‘Soil Environmental Conservation Act’, except 2 samples for Cu. However, substantial amount of Cd was accumulated in medicinal plant roots with 29% samples exceeding the standard limit legislated in ‘Pharmaceutical Affairs Act’ while all plant samples were lower than the standard limit value for Pb. Also the current study demonstrated that cadmium concentrations in the roots were governed by the phytoavailable Cd in soils, which decreased as soil pH increased. From this result, application of heavy metal immobilization technique using a pH change-induced immobilizing agents can be suggested for safer root medicinal plant production.

Heavy Metal Accumulation in Edible Part of Eleven Crops Cultivated in Metal Contaminated Soils and Their Bio-concentration Factor

Heavy Metal Accumulation in Edible Part of Eleven Crops Cultivated in Metal Contaminated Soils and Their Bio-concentration Factor Ga-Hee Lim, Kye-Hoon Kim, Byoung-Hwan Seo, and Kwon-Rae Kim (Department of Environmental Horticulture, College of Natural Science, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea, Department of Agronomy and Medicinal Plant Resources, College of Bioscience, Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology, Jinju 52725, Korea)

Transfer Function for Phytoavailable Heavy Metals in Contaminated Agricultural Soils: The Case of The Korean Agricultural Soils Affected by The Abandoned Mining Sites

Transfer Function for Phytoavailable Heavy Metals in Contaminated Agricultural Soils: The Case of The Korean Agricultural Soils Affected by The Abandoned Mining Sites Ga-Hee Lim, Kye-Hoon Kim, Byoung-Hwan Seo and Kwon-Rae Kim (Department of Environment Horticulture, University of Seoul, Seoul 130-743, Korea, Department of Agronomy and Medicinal Plant Resources, Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology, Jinju, 660-758, Korea)

A DOC coagulant, gypsum treatment can simultaneously reduce As, Cd and Pb uptake by medicinal plants grown in contaminated soil

The efficiency of gypsum, as a dissolved organic carbon (DOC) coagulator, for the simultaneous immobilization of two heavy metals (Cd and Pb) and one metalloid (As) in agricultural soils near an abandoned mining site was examined. The agricultural soil was defined as long-term contaminated as As (1540mgkg-1), Cd (55mgkg-1) and Pb (1283mgkg-1) concentrations exceeded the Korean guideline values for As (25mgkg-1), Cd (4mgkg-1), and Pb (200mgkg-1). Gypsum was incorporated into the contaminated soil at 3% (w/w). In comparison two commonly using immobilizing agents (lime and compost), together with a mixture (lime+gypsum) were also included in the pot trial for the cultivation of two medical plants (A. gigas and A. macrocephala) and to evaluate the effectiveness of gypsum on As, Cd and Pb immobilization. The results showed that even though pH change-induced immobilizing agents such as lime were more effective than gypsum at immobilizing Cd and Pb, addition of gypsum also effectively reduced heavy metal phytoavailability as indicated by decreases in the concentration of Cd and Pb in medicinal plants. Furthermore, gypsum and gypsum+ lime were also most effective in reducing As concentrations in both plants studied. This was mainly attributed to significant decreases in soil DOC (48-64%) when gypsum and gypsum+lime were applied to the soil. Consequently, it was concluded that enhanced DOC coagulation with gypsum, could be considered as a promising technique for the immobilization of both metals (Cd and Pb) and metalloids (As) in agricultural soils.

Application of Practical Immobilizing Agents for Declining Heavy Metal (loid)s Accumulation by Agricultural Crop (Allium wakegi Araki)

Received: August 7, 2017 Revised: August 25, 2017 Accepted: August 27, 2017 In order to reduce the accumulation of toxic metals (As, Cd and Pb) in the chives, various immobilizing agents such as a soil pH change-inducing immobilizing agent (lime), sorption agent (compost, spent mushroom compost), soil pH change and sorption agent (biochar) and, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) coagulator (gypsum) and uncontaminated soil were applied to the contaminated soils in isolation and in combination. Then chives were grown and determined for As, Cd and Pb concentrations accumulated in the edible part at harvest. The Cd and Pb concentrations of the chive plant grown in the contaminated soil (no treatment) exceeded the legislated Korean guideline values (Cd: 0.05 mg kg-1, Pb 0.1 mg kg-1) and As concentration (21 mg kg-1) was 1,000 times higher than chives plant grown in uncontaminated environment in Korea. Application of lime and gypsum significantly reduced As, Cd and Pb concentrations in all chives examined, due to the increased soil pH and decreased soil DOC. Also, application of combination treatments involving DOC coagulator such as gypsum together with lime decreased As, Cd and Pb concentrations from 21, 1.3 and 9.7 mg kg-1 to 2.1, 0.1 and 1.1 mg kg-1, respectively. Consequently, it was concluded that pH change-inducing immobilizing agent (lime) which was already well known and DOC coagulator such as gypsum could be used as a promising immobilizing agent for safer chives plant production.