Impact of Silica Addition on Alleviating Cadmium Stress: Case Studies of Three Afforestation Tree Species Seedlings in Southern China

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) stress is becoming an increasing menace for plants, inducing a series of negative effect. Silicon (Si) plays an important role in mitigating Cd stress in plants. Here, we conducted a one-year experiment with three kinds of tree species seedlings (Schima superba, Chinese sweetgum, Chinese fir) and five levels of Cd treatments (0 mg·kg−1, 6 mg kg−1, 12 mg kg−1, 24 mg kg−1, 36 mg kg−1) with or without 1 g kg−1 Si addition to investigate the mitigation effect of Si on woody plants. The results in this study showed that Cd stress triggered morphological and physiological changes, inhibiting the growth of the three kinds of tree species seedlings. Low concentrations of Cd treatment stimulated the biomass production of Schima superba and Chinese sweetgum seedlings, whereas the biomass production of Chinese fir was not stimulated by Cd treatment. The stimulatory effects were also observed in the antioxidant enzyme (SOD, POD, CAT) activities of the three kinds of seedlings. The MDA contents decreased with the rise of Cd treatments. Soil pH decreased under Cd stress. BCF values of different fractions were observed to increase with the rise of Cd treatments, except for the leaf BCF value of Chinese sweetgum. The root−to−stem TF values of all increased compared with the control, while the root-to-leaf TF values were observed to decrease. Si addition enhanced the growth of the three kinds of tree species seedlings, inducing the increase of heights, ground diameter, leaf morphological parameters, biomass production, the content of chlorophyll and the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Treatment with Si significantly decreased the Cd concentration in different fractions of the three kinds of seedlings. Soil pH increased after treatment with Si. The BCF values for Si-treated plants were all observed to be lower than the non-Si-treated ones. However, the addition Si did not affect the root-to-stem and root-to-leaf TF values in the three kinds of seedlings.