Biochar application for the remediation of trace metals in contaminated soils: Implications for stress tolerance and crop production

Fasih Ullah Haider; Xiukang Wang; Muhammad Farooq; Saddam Hussain; Sardar Alam Cheema; Noor Ul Ain; Ahmad Latif Virk; Mukkaram Ejaz; Uulzhan Janyshova; Cai Liqun

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113165

Biochar application for the remediation of trace metals in contaminated soils: Implications for stress tolerance and crop production

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2022 Jan 15:230:113165. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113165. Epub 2022 Jan 5.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Provincial Key Lab of Arid-land Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
² College of Life Sciences, Yan'an University, Yan'an 716000, China. Electronic address: wangxiukang@yau.edu.cn.
³ Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khoud 123, Oman.
⁴ Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.
⁵ Centre of Genomics and Biotechnology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Jinshan, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Farming System, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Beijing 100193, China; College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
⁷ School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China.
⁸ College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou 730000, China.
⁹ College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Gansu Provincial Key Lab of Arid-land Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. Electronic address: cailq@gsau.edu.cn.

PMID: 34998263
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113165

Abstract

In modern agriculture and globalization, the release of trace metals from manufacturing effluents hinders crop productivity by polluting the atmosphere and degrading food quality. Sustaining food safety in polluted soils is critical to ensure global food demands. This review describes the negative effects of trace metals stress on plant growth, physiology, and yield. Furthermore, also explains the potential of biochar in the remediation of trace metal's contaminations in plants by adoption of various mechanisms such as reduction, ion exchange, electrostatic forces of attraction, precipitation, and complexation. Biochar application enhances the overall productivity, accumulation of biomass, and photosynthetic activity of plants through the regulation of various biochemical and physiological mechanisms of plants cultivated under trace metals contaminated soil. Moreover, biochar scavenges the formation of reactive oxygen species, by activating antioxidant enzyme production i.e., ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, etc. The application of biochar also improves the synthesis of stressed proteins and proline contents in plants thus maintaining the osmoprotectant and osmotic potential of the plant under contaminates stress. Integrated application of biochar with other amendments i.e., microorganisms and plant nutrients to improve trace metal remediation potential of biochar and improving crop production was also highlighted in this review. Moreover, future research needs regarding the application of biochar have also been addressed.

Keywords: Biochar; Oxidative stress; Remediation; Toxicity; Trace metals.

Publication types

Review