Bioavailability and toxicity variation of benzo[a]pyrene in three
soil-wheat systems: Indicators of soil quality
Abstract
Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) as a representative polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons is concerned by global scientists in various fields, but
its biological and biochemical actions in soil-wheat systems are still
rarely reported. The B[a]P as a ubiquitous soil pollutant possesses
varied contents in real environment, and herein was studied in systems
of soil and wheat to obtain relative results to reveal their variations
in different systems. Its bioavailability (extractability and
bioaccumulation) and basic biological toxicity were tested based on
three typical soil types (red, black, and brown) in China and spiked
amounts (0.1, 1, and 10 mg/kg) with several orders of magnitude. Results
showed that B[a]P concentrations in soil-wheat systems extracted by
HPCD were insignificantly (p > 0.05) higher than Tenax-TA,
and varied with soil types and spiked concentrations. Besides, the root
and shoot length were mostly inhibited, in a range of -21.85%-26.35%
and -0.48%-54.85%, respectively, by B[a]P in different soil types
and increased with its increasing concentration. Comparatively, higher
bioconcentration factor and translocation factor values were observed
under lower group in red soil-wheat systems, and higher spiked groups in
black and brown soil-wheat systems. Moreover, inhibitive effects posed
by B[a]P were mainly targeted at wheat shoots in these soils. The
simultaneous studies provided a comparable knowledge of B[a]P in
ecosystems of different soil types combined with different plant species
due to lots of variations, further to serve for contaminated soil
remediation and sustainable agricultural management.