Testing Single and Combinations of Amendments for Stabilization of Metals in Contrasting Extremely Contaminated Soils

¹ Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, Dept. Soil Science Erosion and Land Protection, Czartoryskich 8, Pulawy, 24-100, Poland
² Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiológicas de Galicia (IIAG), CSIC, Avda. de Vigo s/n, Santiago de Compostela 15780, Spain
³ UMR BIOGECO INRA 1202, Ecology of Communities, University of Bordeaux 1, Bât B2, RdC Est, avenue des Facultés, F-33405 Talence, France
INRA, 69 route d’Arcachon, 33610 Cestas, France
⁴ Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
⁵ USDA-ARS, EMBUL, Beltsville, MD 20705 USA
⁶ Universiteit Hasselt, Environmental Biology, Agoralaan, Gebouw. D, BE-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
⁷ AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Health and Environment Department, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, A-3420 Tulln, Austria
⁸ University of Brighton, Environment and Technology, BN24AT, United Kingdom
⁹ BOKU, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Dept. Forest and Soil Sciences, Rhizosphere Ecology and Biogeochemistry Group, Peter Jordan Strasse 82, A-1190 Vienna, Austria

^a gs@iung.pulawy.pl

Abstract

Metals can be stabilized by soil amendments that increase metals adsorption or alter their chemical forms. Such treatments may limit the risk related to the contamination through reduction of metal transfer to the food chain (reduction of metal uptake by plants and its availability to soil organisms) and metals migration within the environment. There is a need for experiments comparing various soil amendments available at reasonable amounts under similar environmental conditions. The other question is whether all components of soil environment or soil functions are similarly protected after remediation treatment. We conducted a series of pot studies to test some traditional and novel amendments and their combinations. The treatments were tested for several highly Zn/Cd/Pb contaminated soils. Among traditional amendments composts were the most effective – they ensured plant growth, increased soil microbial activity, reduced Cd in earthworms, reduced Pb bioaccessibility and increased share of unavailable forms of Cd and Pb.