Abstract:
Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of exogenous organic acids on heavy metal desorption and enzymatic activities in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of Impatiens uliginosa, and provide a theoretical basis for the remediation of heavy metal pollution in Dianchi Lake.
Method By simulating the root exudates of Impatiens uliginosa, the effects of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valproic acid and tartaric acid with different concentrations (0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 mol L−1) on the desorption of Pb, Cu and Zn and enzyme activities in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils were studied.
Result The results showed that five organic acids significantly promoted the desorption of Cu and Zn. As the concentration of exogenous organic acids increased, the desorption of heavy metals in rhizosphere soil was higher than that in non-rhizosphere soil. In rhizosphere soil, butyric acid at a concentration of 0.1 mol L−1 had the highest desorption of Pb, tartaric acid at a concentration of 0.1 mol L−1 had the highest desorption capacity for Cu and Zn, which were 19.41, 22.40 and 22.97 mg kg−1 respectively. The desorption partition coefficient (Kd) of Cu and Zn decreased with the increasing of the concentration of five organic acids, and reached the maximum under pure water treatment, which were 360.79 and 6592.64 L kg−1 respectively. In non-rhizosphere soil, only propionic acid at a concentration of 0.1 mol L−1 could desorb Pb, and when the concentration of acetic acid was 0.005 and 0 mol L−1, the maximum Kd of Cu and Zn were 11079.68 and 3452.75 L kg−1 respectively. The activities of α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, Cellobiohydrolase, Xylosidase, Acetylglucosaminidase, L-leucine aminopeptidase and phosphatase in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil increased significantly under different treatments, the phosphatase activity in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil treated with valproic acid and tartaric acid at a concentration of 0.1 mol L−1 was the highest, which were 1181.88 ± 2.54 and 717.34 ± 6.64 nmol h−1 g−1 respectively. Soil enzyme activity was extremely positive correlated with the concentration of organic acids and desorption quantity of Cu, Zn(P < 0.01), and the enzyme activity of rhizosphere soil was higher than that of non-rhizosphere soil under organic acid treatment.
Conclusion Soil enzyme activities and the desorption of Pb, Cu, Zn in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil could increase under organic acid treatments, and Cu, Zn that be desorbed from soils could activate soil enzyme activities.