Abstract
The bioavailability of heavy metals in soil is controlled by their concentrations and soil properties. Diffuse reflectance mid-infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) is capable of detecting specific organic and inorganic bonds in metal complexes and minerals and therefore, has been employed to predict soil composition and heavy metal contents. The present study explored the potential of DRIFTS for estimating soil heavy metal bioavailability. Soil and corresponding wheat grain samples from the Yangtze River Delta region were analyzed by DRIFTS and chemical methods. Statistical regression analyses were conducted to correlate the soil spectral information to the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Hg and Fe in wheat grains. The principal components in the spectra influencing soil heavy metal bioavailability were identified and used in prediction model construction. The established soil DRIFTS-based prediction models were applied to estimate the heavy metal concentrations in wheat grains in the mid-Yangtze River Delta area. The predicted heavy metal concentrations of wheat grain were highly consistent with the measured levels by chemical analysis, showing a significant correlation (r2 > 0.72) with acceptable root mean square error RMSE. In conclusion, DRIFTS is a promising technique for assessing the bioavailability of soil heavy metals and related ecological risk.
Highlights
Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique for qualitatively identifying and quantitatively measuring characteristic functional structures of various chemicals
For MIR spectrometers using the Fourier-transform technology, this analytical technique is known as Diffuse Reflectance mid-Infrared Fourier-Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS)
This study aimed to explore an approach of predicting bioaccumulation of soil heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, As, Ni, Cr, Cu, Zn and Fe) in wheat grain based on the soil DRIFTS spectral information
Summary
Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique for qualitatively identifying and quantitatively measuring characteristic functional structures of various chemicals. The soil in the region covers a rather wide range in the major quality parameters[30], making the area an ideal experimental field to investigate the relationship between soil MIR spectra and the bioavailability of soil heavy metals (as indicated by concentrations of heavy metals in the cultivated wheat). We first established the DRIFTS-based calibration models for predicting heavy metal concentrations of wheat grain using soil DRIFTS spectra and chemically-measured wheat grain metal concentration data of 126 paired soil and grown wheat grain samples from the Yangtze River Delta region. The research contributes significantly to establishing a rapid, practical, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly method for assessing the bioavailability of heavy metals in soils and the related food safety risk of agro-products grown in the soil. This research confirms the feasibility of using the DRIFTS technique to early alarm the potential ecological risks of heavy metals in soils
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