Impact of Urea Addition and Rhizobium Inoculation on Plant Resistance in Metal Contaminated Soil

Guoting Shen, Wenliang Ju, Yuqing Liu, Xiaobin Guo, Wei Zhao and Linchuan Fang
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Guoting Shen: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Wenliang Ju: Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
Yuqing Liu: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Xiaobin Guo: Agriculture Production and Research Division, Department of Fisheries and Land Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Corner Brook, NL A2H 6J8, Canada
Wei Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Linchuan Fang: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: Legume-rhizobium symbiosis has been heavily investigated for their potential to enhance plant metal resistance in contaminated soil. However, the extent to which plant resistance is associated with the nitrogen (N) supply in symbiont is still uncertain. This study investigates the effect of urea or/and rhizobium ( Sinorhizobium meliloti ) application on the growth of Medicago sativa and resistance in metals contaminated soil (mainly with Cu). The results show that Cu uptake in plant shoots increased by 41.7%, 69%, and 89.3% with urea treatment, rhizobium inoculation, and their combined treatment, respectively, compared to the control group level. In plant roots, the corresponding values were 1.9-, 1.7-, and 1.5-fold higher than the control group values, respectively. Statistical analysis identified that N content was the dominant variable contributing to Cu uptake in plants. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between plant oxidative stress and N content, indicating that N plays a key role in plant resistance. Oxidative damage decreased after rhizobium inoculation as the activities of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase in roots and peroxidase in plant shoots) were stimulated, enhancing plant resistance and promoting plant growth. Our results suggest that individual rhizobium inoculation, without urea treatment, is the most recommended approach for effective phytoremediation of contaminated land.

Keywords: heavy metal; legume-rhizobium; nitrogen; phytoextraction; plant resistance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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