Abstract
The cadmium (Cd) pollution of farmland soil is serious in the world. The present study investigated the effects of intercropping Vicia faba and the hyperaccumulator Sonchus asper on the Cd accumulation and root responses (morphology and secreted organic acids) of plants grown on soil from a mining area in Yunnan Province, China, under different Cd stress levels (0, 50, 100, and 200 mg kg–1). Intercropping increased the biomass of both S. asper and V. faba, as well as the Cd accumulation and Cd transfer coefficient from roots to shoots of S. asper, but decreased those of V. faba in the 200 mg kg–1 Cd treatment. The Cd concentrations in roots, shoots, and grains from intercropped V. faba plants were positively correlated (P < 0.05) with the N,N-diethyl phenylacetamide-extractable Cd content in soil. In the 50 mg kg–1 Cd treatment, intercropping decreased citric and malic acids in root secretions of S. asper. Intercropped V. faba secreted more citric, oxalic, acetic, and malic acid compared with S. asper. Intercropping also increased root length and root surface area of both S. asper and V. faba. At 50 mg kg–1 Cd, root length for S. asper was higher than that at 0 mg kg–1 Cd, whereas V. faba roots had significantly decreased length and mean diameter. Intercropping of S. asper and V. faba is suggested as an in situ phytoremediation strategy of Cd-contaminated soils and may improve the food quality of V. faba.
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