Strengthening role and the mechanism of optimum nitrogen addition in relation to Solanum nigrum L. Cd hyperaccumulation in soil

Abstract

Solanum nigrum L. has a high potential for the remediation of Cd-contaminated soil, and nitrogen fertilizer supply is an effective method to further improve its phytoremediation potential. The soil pot culture experiment was used to explore 4 kinds of nitrogen fertilizers the best fertilizer addition concentrations and their strengthening mechanisms. The results showed that S. nigrum biomass increased with increasing N doses until 800 mg kg−1, where the biomass reached maximum and no longer improved (p < 0.05). However, Cd concentration accumulated by S. nigrum and the extractable Cd concentration in soil did not show a significant decrease (p < 0.05). In this experiment, when N fertilizer was added at 800 mg kg−1 (NH4HCO3, NH4Cl, (NH4)2SO4 and CH4N2O fertilizers), the biomass of the aboveground S. nigrum parts improved to the maximum under (NH4)2SO4 and CH4N2O treatments, i.e. 5.86 g pot−1 and 5.83 g pot−1, increased by 5.92- and 5.89-fold, respectively (p < 0.05), compared to the controls without N fertilizers addition. At the same time, Cd phytoaccumulation in plants was elevated to 128.40 μg pot−1 and 129.14 μg pot−1, increased by 6.20- and 6.24-fold, respectively (p < 0.05), compared to control with no fertilizer added. The results of this experiment demonstrated that Cd phytoextraction capacity (μg pot−1) was the strongest under (NH4)2SO4 and CH4N2O treatments at N content of 800 mg kg−1, when plant nutrient recovery reached the maximum, and these 2 types of nitrogen fertilizers could be utilized to remediate Cd-contaminated soil in field experiments or even in practice.