Environmental Pollution 199 (2015) 83e88
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Environmental Pollution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol
Accumulation of atmospheric deposition of As, Cd and Pb by bush bean plants L. De Temmerman, N. Waegeneers, A. Ruttens, K. Vandermeiren* CODA-CERVA-Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Leuvensesteensweg 17, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Received 22 July 2014 Received in revised form 7 January 2015 Accepted 9 January 2015 Available online
Bush bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) was exposed to atmospheric deposition of As, Cd and Pb in a polluted and a reference area. The atmospheric deposition of these elements was significantly related to the concentrations in leaves, stems and pods at green harvest. Surprisingly there was also a clear relation for As and Pb in the seeds at dry harvest, even though these seeds were covered by the husks. Root uptake of accumulated atmospheric deposits was not likely in such a short term experiment, as confirmed by the fact that soil pore water analysis did not reveal significant differences in trace element concentrations in the different exposure areas. For biomonitoring purposes, the leaves of bush bean are the most suitable, but also washed or unwashed pods can be used. This means that the obtained relationships are suitable to estimate the transfer of airborne trace elements in the food chain via bush bean. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Atmospheric deposition As Cd Pb Bush bean Phaseolus vulgaris
1. Introduction Atmospheric deposition of trace elements has a direct impact on their concentrations in above-ground plant parts in industrial and urban areas (Schreck et al., 2012a; Zalud et al., 2012; S€ aumel et al., 2012). Exposure of test plants in a polluted area provides information about the accumulation of airborne trace elements in different plant parts. Such biomonitoring experiments have resulted in mathematical relationships between atmospheric deposition and the concentration of trace elements in leafy and root vegetables (De Temmerman and Hoenig, 2004; De Temmerman et al., 2012) but this approach has not yet been used to monitor trace element accumulation in pods and seeds of bush bean. Atmospheric deposition is the most important source of Pb contamination on the aerial parts of plants (Voutsa et al., 1996; Hu et al., 2011) whereas the contribution of soil borne Pb in crops is very low. On the other hand, root uptake can be important for Cd even at rather low soil concentrations. Arsenic (As) holds an intermediate position when considering root uptake. Historically, plants have been considered to accumulate dust particles externally but there are some indications of further uptake
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (K. Vandermeiren). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.01.014 0269-7491/© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
and distribution throughout the entire plant. The possibility that non-dissolved nanosized particles (
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Environmental Pollution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol
Accumulation of atmospheric deposition of As, Cd and Pb by bush bean plants L. De Temmerman, N. Waegeneers, A. Ruttens, K. Vandermeiren* CODA-CERVA-Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Leuvensesteensweg 17, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history: Received 22 July 2014 Received in revised form 7 January 2015 Accepted 9 January 2015 Available online
Bush bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) was exposed to atmospheric deposition of As, Cd and Pb in a polluted and a reference area. The atmospheric deposition of these elements was significantly related to the concentrations in leaves, stems and pods at green harvest. Surprisingly there was also a clear relation for As and Pb in the seeds at dry harvest, even though these seeds were covered by the husks. Root uptake of accumulated atmospheric deposits was not likely in such a short term experiment, as confirmed by the fact that soil pore water analysis did not reveal significant differences in trace element concentrations in the different exposure areas. For biomonitoring purposes, the leaves of bush bean are the most suitable, but also washed or unwashed pods can be used. This means that the obtained relationships are suitable to estimate the transfer of airborne trace elements in the food chain via bush bean. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Atmospheric deposition As Cd Pb Bush bean Phaseolus vulgaris
1. Introduction Atmospheric deposition of trace elements has a direct impact on their concentrations in above-ground plant parts in industrial and urban areas (Schreck et al., 2012a; Zalud et al., 2012; S€ aumel et al., 2012). Exposure of test plants in a polluted area provides information about the accumulation of airborne trace elements in different plant parts. Such biomonitoring experiments have resulted in mathematical relationships between atmospheric deposition and the concentration of trace elements in leafy and root vegetables (De Temmerman and Hoenig, 2004; De Temmerman et al., 2012) but this approach has not yet been used to monitor trace element accumulation in pods and seeds of bush bean. Atmospheric deposition is the most important source of Pb contamination on the aerial parts of plants (Voutsa et al., 1996; Hu et al., 2011) whereas the contribution of soil borne Pb in crops is very low. On the other hand, root uptake can be important for Cd even at rather low soil concentrations. Arsenic (As) holds an intermediate position when considering root uptake. Historically, plants have been considered to accumulate dust particles externally but there are some indications of further uptake
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (K. Vandermeiren). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.01.014 0269-7491/© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
and distribution throughout the entire plant. The possibility that non-dissolved nanosized particles (
