The expected typical gley moist paddy soil was collected in Zhejiang Province, China, and conventional (XS 134 and JH 218) and varieties of hybrid (YY 538 and CY 84) rices were used for a pot experiment. The effects of exogenous heavy metals lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) on rice growth and the accumulation of heavy metals in the grains were studied. The results show that heavy metal concentrations in soil and rice grains have significant correlations, and Pb and Cr significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the rice growth (plant height and panicle weight). The potential ecological hazard index (RI) of heavy metals in the soil was 4.88−6.76, which belongs to the grade of “slight ecological hazard”, and Pb provides a larger potential ecological hazard than Cr in the studied region. The thresholds for potential health risks and ecological risks for Pb and Cr were lower than the “Control Standards for Soil Pollution Risk of Agricultural Land (Trial)” (GB15618-2018, China). This work provides the basis for soil pollution control for Pb and Cr and the selection of rice cultivars from Pb and Cr accumulated soils.
Keywords: ecological risk; health risk; heavy metals; rice species; soil; thresholds.