Investigating the Interactive Effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Different Chelating Agents (EDTA and DTPA) with Different Plant Species on Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soil

Saud S. Aloud (), Khaled D. Alotaibi, Khalid F. Almutairi, Fahad N. Albarakah, Fahad Alotaibi and Ibrahim A. Ahmed
Additional contact information
Saud S. Aloud: Soil Science Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia
Khaled D. Alotaibi: Soil Science Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia
Khalid F. Almutairi: Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia
Fahad N. Albarakah: Soil Science Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia
Fahad Alotaibi: Soil Science Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia
Ibrahim A. Ahmed: Soil Science Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 13362, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: Heavy metal (HM) contamination in soil poses a severe environmental threat, jeopardizing ecosystem health and potentially entering the food chain through plant uptake. Phytoremediation, a bioremediation technique utilizing plants to remove or immobilize contaminants, offers a sustainable and eco-friendly solution for HM remediation. This study investigated the interactive effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and chelating agents (EDTA and DTPA) on the growth of maize ( Zea mays L.) and alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) cultivated in metal-contaminated soil and their impact on HM uptake by these plants. The findings revealed that AMF and chelating agents have complex interactive effects on plant growth and metal accumulation. Maize ( Zea mays L.) shoot dry matter increased with AMF and chelating agents at lower concentrations. Both plants generally showed a significant ( p ≤ 0.05) increase in shoot dry matter with amendments, with AMF × EDTA (10 mmol/kg) being the most effective for alfalfa. DTPA and EDTA generally reduced the DTPA-extractable metals in soil, suggesting potential for metal removal. However, the effects of AMF on metal availability were variable. Metal concentrations in maize ( Zea mays L.) shoots increased with increasing DTPA and EDTA concentrations, while the effects of AMF were more complex. The alfalfa shoot metal content showed varied responses, with EDTA (5 mmol/kg) effectively reducing the metal uptake. In general, treatments involving chelating agents (DTPA and EDTA) tend to result in higher bioaccumulation factor (BF) values compared to the non-treated controls for most HMs in both plant species. Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) treatment alone or in combination with chelating agents also showed that varied effects on HM uptake in both the alfalfa and maize treatments with chelating agents, especially at higher concentrations, generally promoted the greater translocation of HMs in both plant species. Both alfalfa and maize responded differently to treatments, with some treatments showing higher translocation factor (TF) values for certain HMs in one species compared to the other. Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) treatment alone or in combination with chelating agents also showed varied effects on HM uptake and translocation in both alfalfa and maize. Further research is required to optimize remediation strategies that balance plant health and metal mobilization.

Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; chelating agents; DTPA; EDTA; heavy metals; phytoremediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/20/8820/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/20/8820/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:20:p:8820-:d:1496884

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().