Abstract
Hemp is a promising plant for phytomanagement. The possibility to couple soil restoration to industrial crop cultivation makes this plant attractive for the management of contaminated sites. In this trial, Cannabis sativa L. plants were grown in a greenhouse on soils from two sites of “Valle del Sacco” (Lazio Region, Italy), a wide area contaminated by agro-industrial activities. One site was representative of moderate and diffuse metal(loid) multi-contamination, above the Italian concentration limit for agriculture (MC—moderately contaminated). The second site showed a metal(loid) content below the aforementioned limit, as a typical background level of the district (C—control). After 90 days, biometric and physiological parameters revealed satisfactory growth in both soil types. MC-grown plants showed a slight, but significant reduction in leaf area, root, and leaf biomass compared with C-grown plants. Chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, namely the quantum yield of primary photochemistry (Fv/Fm) and the Performance Index (PIABS), confirmed the good physiological status of plants in both soils. Metal(loid) analyses revealed that As, V, and Pb accumulated only in the roots with significant differences in MC- and C-grown plants, while Zn was found in all organs. Overall, preliminary results showed a satisfactorily growth coupled with the restriction of toxic metal translocation in MC-grown hemp plants, opening perspectives for the phytomanagement of moderately contaminated areas.
Highlights
In the agricultural soil, the overuse of fertilisers and waste release from industrial processes has resulted in a large number of contaminated sites over Europe requesting to be reclaimed, contributing to exacerbated land degradation problems [1]
Metal concentrations of As, V, and Pb were below the threshold fixed by the Italian Law in C-soil and beyond the legal limit in the soil representing a moderate contamination (MC)
The results revealed that the growth of hemp plants in MC-soil was reduced compared with that observed for plants cultivated in C-soil
Summary
The overuse of fertilisers and waste release from industrial processes has resulted in a large number of contaminated sites over Europe requesting to be reclaimed, contributing to exacerbated land degradation problems [1]. The awareness about the harmful effects produced by such contaminants on human health, through plant cultivation and animal breeding, is forcing the characterisation of different environmental restoration technologies, among which eco-sustainable ones are largely studied and successfully applied, especially in sites characterised by moderate and diffuse contamination [3,4]. In this regard, the phytomanagement is recognised as an effective approach to carry out a risk management strategy [5,6], being constituted by an array of gentle remediation options (GROs) technologies that can be applied as. Particular attention is currently being paid to investigating the possibility of cultivating non-food crops on contaminated lands that, besides the capability to remediate soils, could satisfactorily grow and produce biomass and other bio-products for multiple profitable uses, avoiding the metal transfer to the food chain [9]
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