Cadmium-resistant phosphate-solubilizing bacteria immobilized on phosphoric acid-ball milling modified biochar enhances soil cadmium passivation and phosphorus bioavailability

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) can accumulate in agriculture soil from the regular application of phosphorus (P) fertilizer. Microbiological method is considered as a potentially effective strategy that can not only remediate the Cd-contaminated soil but also provide the phosphorus needed for crop growth. However, the toxicity of Cd may affect the activity of microorganisms. To solve this problem, Klebsiella variicola with excellent phosphate solubilization ability (155.30 mg L−1 at 48 h) and Cd adsorption rate (90.84 % with 10 mg L−1 Cd initial concentration) was firstly isolated and identified in this study. Then, a phosphoric acid and ball milling co-modified biochar (PBC) was selected as the carrier to promote the activities of K. variicola under Cd pollution. Surface characterization revealed that the promotion of K. variicola by PBC was mainly attributed to the large specific surface area and diverse functional groups. Compared to contaminated soil, microbial PBC (MPBC) significantly increased the pakchoi biomass and phosphorus (P) content, while the Cd content in leave and root of pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.) decreased by 25.90–43.46 % (P < 0.05). The combined application also favored the transformation of the resistant P fractions to bioavailable P, and facilitated the immobilization of 20.12 % exchangeable Cd to reducible, oxidizable, and residual Cd in the treated soil. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the response of the soil microbial community to the MPBC was more beneficial than K. variicola or PBC alone. Therefore, the application of MPBC has the potential to act as an efficient, stable, and environmentally friendly sustainable product for Cd remediation and enhanced P bioavailability in agricultural production.