Potential use of biochar, compost and iron grit associated with Trifolium repens to stabilize Pb and As on a multi-contaminated technosol

Abstract

Vegetation cover can be used in the phytomanagement of polluted areas by adding value to abandoned sites and reducing the dispersion of pollutants by erosion. Appropriate amendments, that allow both efficient plant growth and the immobilization of contaminants in the soil must be chosen in order to optimize the efficiency of this process. We used a mining technosol mainly contaminated by arsenic (1068 mg kg−1) and lead (23387 mg kg−1) to study the effect of three amendments (biochar, compost and iron grit) on (i) physico-chemical properties of the soil and soil pore water, (ii) metal(loid) mobility, bioavailability and bioaccessibility (CaCl2 and Simple Bioaccessibility Extraction Test (SBET)), and (iii) the capability of Trifolium repens to germinate and grow. All the amendments used increased the pH and electrical conductivity of the SPW, resulting in a 90% decrease in the concentration of lead in the soil pore water (SPW). We also demonstrated a decrease in Pb phytoavailability. The amendments allowed the establishment of a plant cover, although the addition of iron grit alone did not allow any clover germination. For the Pontgibaud technosol, the combination of the three amendments resulted in a significant decrease in As and Pb concentrations in clover tissues, mainly in the aerial organs. The amendments also made it possible for some of them to halve the phytoavailable fraction of arsenic. However, for compost, both the As concentrations in the SPW, and the bioavailable fraction of As increased. All the amendments used had contrasting effects on the bioaccessible fractions of metal(loid)s. The most efficient amendment combination was the addition of 5% biochar and 5% compost.