Contamination of heavy metals (including the cadmium, Cd) in agricultural soils has become an increased issue, posing a threat to the crop safety and human health. In order to evaluate the contamination characteristics and bioavailability of Cd in the soil−crop systems from the East edge of the Dongting Lake, four kinds of agricultural products for typical crops (rice, peanut, sweet potato, and corn) and corresponding rhizosphere soils were collected and analyzed for the Cd concentrations. The technique of diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) was applied to evaluate the Cd bioavailability in the rhizosphere soils. Concentrations of Cd ranged from 0.04 to 2.95 mg/kg (average 0.24 mg/kg) with 73.9% sites above the background levels, especially for paddy soils. Cd concentrations in the agricultural products ranged from 0.01 to 2.19 mg/kg (average 0.18 mg/kg), with Cd enrichment observed in the peanut samples. No obvious correlations (R2 < 0.25) were observed between the Cd concentrations in the agricultural products and total Cd concentrations in the rhizosphere soils, this indicated that the total Cd concentrations in the soils cannot predict the concentrations in the agricultural products of crops. While the DGT measured Cd concentrations showed good correlations (R2 = 0.64−0.90) with the concentrations in the most agricultural products of crops, which may be used to evaluate the safety of the soil and further safety of the agricultural products of crops. Overall, DGT showed a good potential for prediction of heavy metal bioavailability in soil since the DGT technique can simulate the sustained supply of heavy metals from solid to liquid in the soils.
Keywords: Dongting Lake; bioavailability; cadmium (Cd); diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT); food safety.