Influence of soil inorganic amendments on heavy metal accumulation by leafy vegetables

The present study aims to assess the effect of four inorganic soil amendments, such as lime (CaCO3), red mud consisting of 75% hematite (Fe2O3), gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), and Al oxide (Al2O3), of an alkaline heavy metal–contaminated soil. For this purpose, a pot experiment was conducted by physically mixing individual six subsamples of a soil sample collected from Thessaly area with four inorganic soil amendments along with two leafy plants, spinach and lettuce. Al oxide causes the maximum reduction of the water-soluble Cu concentration, as its concentrations is no longer detectable. The Cu availability index decreases when aluminum oxide was used. The use of gypsum and red mud caused almost equal reduction while the smallest decrease was caused by the use of lime. The Zn availability index decreased equally when aluminum oxide and gypsum were mixed with the soil sample. The highest reduction of Cu and Zn transfer coefficient (TC) was observed when the Al2O3 was used. In spinach, Zn TC reduction was 39.8% and Cu TC reduction was 41.0%. In lettuce, the addition of Al2O3 led to Cu TC reduction of over 37.3% and Zn TC reduction of up to 38.7%. Generally, Al2O3 nanoparticles may function as suitable sorbents for the removal of Zn and Cu from soil samples, with an increasing effectiveness in spinach rather than lettuce. Liming materials seem to increase the soil alkalinity and promote the complexation of soluble heavy metals with hydroxide ions leading to immobilization of heavy metals in soil and reduce their amount in leafy vegetables. Remediation of contaminated soils is considered necessary to reduce environmental risks and to achieve the means available to increase agricultural production of safe and quality food.