Study of the Transfer Coefficient of Cadmium and Lead in Ryegrass and Lettuce

Abstract

The aim of study was to find the correlation between the concentration of the total amount of heavy metals of soils and that of plants because it shows which elements can be accumulated by different plants. The transfer coefficient is the metal concentration in plant tissues aboveground divided by the total metal concentration of soil. Pot experiments were conducted under greenhouse conditions. The total lead (Pb) content (about 21 mg · kg⁻¹ soil) of soils was higher than the cadmium (Cd) content (about 0.21 mg · kg⁻¹ soil). The Cd concentration of lettuce (averaging 0.93 mg · kg⁻¹) was higher than that of ryegrass (averaging 0.20 mg · kg⁻¹). The transfer coefficient of Cd was lower in ryegrass (averaging 0.95) than in lettuce (4.47). In this experiment, the concentration of Cd was almost five times higher in the four‐leaf lettuce than the Cd content of soil. The transfer coefficient of Pb was generally 0.064 in both plants.

Keywords:

• Cadmium
• lead
• long‐term fertilization
• soil
• transfer coefficient
• uptake by plants

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Hungarian Scientific Research Foundation (Project No. OTKA T037925).