Volume: 3, 2024
3rd International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: E013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL3.E013
Published online: 24 April 2024
ICDSUPL, 3, E013 (2024)
Influence of soil additives in contaminated soil on plant growth
Natalia Niedzbała1*, Małgorzata Mironiuk1, Ewa Lorenc-Grabowska2, Izabela Michalak1
1 Department of Advanced Material Technologies, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology, Smoluchowskiego 25, 50-372 Wroclaw, Poland
2 Department of Process Engineering and Technology of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Gdańska 7/9, 50-344 Wroclaw, Poland
* Corresponding author: natalia.niedzbala@pwr.edu.pl
Abstract
The increase in environmental pollution from urban agglomerations, the constantly developing transport, and the growing activity of industrial plants result in an increase in the content of harmful metal ions in the soil. Copper is one of these metals and is also a microelement required for healthy plant growth and development. This element can be harmful to the plant if it is in excess or deficient. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a soil additive, macroalgae biomass (Cladophora glomerata) and biochar produced from these algae, on the growth of mustard (Sinapis alba) in soil contaminated with copper ions. Algae biomass was thermally converted in the torrefaction process under specific conditions (230°C, 10°C/min, 60 min) to obtain biochar. The algae and biochar were subjected to multielement (ICP-OES technique) and elemental (CN) analysis, mercury content analysis, and technical analysis (moisture, ash, volatile matter). Pot experiments were carried out to examine the effect of these soil additives on plant growth. The control group was uncontaminated soil, while the contaminated soil contained 1000 mg of copper/kg, and the addition of biomass/biochar to the soil was 3%. After 3 weeks of pot experiments, the length of the hypocotyl and the total length of the above-ground part, the chlorophyll content (SPAD) and the fresh weight of the mustard plant were measured. The highest values of hypocotyl length and total length were obtained for mustard growing on contaminated soil with the biochar addition (median 8.53 cm and mean 11.8 ±1.3 cm, respectively) and on uncontaminated soil with the biochar addition (median 7.51 cm and mean 10.1 ±1.4 cm, respectively). However, the highest chlorophyll content (SPAD value, mean 34.6 ±8.0) was obtained for the control group (uncontaminated soil and without soil additives). The use of a soil additive (algae) increases the values of the measured parameters for mustard growing in contaminated soil compared to contaminated soil without using soil additives.
Keywords: algae, biochar, contamination, copper, soil additives
How to cite
N. Niedzbała, M. Mironiuk, E. Lorenc-Grabowska, I. Michalak, 2024. Influence of soil additives in contaminated soil on plant growth. In: 3rd International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL3.E013