Effect of Eisenia fetida Earthworm in the Presence of Organic Matter for Bioremediation and Bioavailability of Cadmium in Contaminated Soils

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Prof. Soil science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu Ali Sina University. Hamadan.

2 Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture,Bu Ali Sina University, hamedan

Abstract

In terms of environmental hazard assessment, earthworms are ecologically important components of soil and considered as a biological indicator to maintain soil health and quality. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of Eisenia fetida earthworms in the bioremediation of cadmium in contaminated soils. For this purpose, this study was carried out on a contaminated soil sampled from the Ahangaran mine, 26 Km far from the Malayer town and surrounding lands. In this study, six soil samples were collected from 0-15 cm depth at different intervals around the mine lands and one soil sample (control sample) from the non-polluted area. This experiment was investigated as a factorial in the form of a complete randomized block design with the first factor of organic fertilizers (cow manure, carrot pulp, vermicompost, and control) and the second factor was existence or absence of earthworms. Twelve earthworms with 0.3 to 0.6 g were selected for each soil sample (300 g). The worms were exposed to cadmium-contaminated soils at concentrations of 1.159 to 6.658 mg kg-1 for 42 days. At the end of the experiment, the concentration of cadmium was measured in soil and whole body of earthworms. The results showed that earthworms have different capacities for absorbing and accumulating cadmium, which is the behavior of earthworms resulting from the diet of earthworms. The highest concentration of cadmium in the whole body of earthworms was found in all treatments at point S3 (soil sampled from the third point), which was more polluted than other sampling points. The addition of cow manure to other treatments also increased accumulation of cadmium in the soil worm tissue. The low concentration of cadmium in the soil led to the high bioaccumultion factor of this metal for earthworms. In this study, the amount of bioaccumultion factor for cadmium was more than one. Application of cow manure, vermicompost and carrot pulp treated with earthworms, significantly increased 1.54, 1.03, 1.38 mg kg-1 Cd in the organic fraction and increased 3.02, 2.79, 2.69 mg kg-1 Cd in the carbonate fraction. Extractable fraction, which contains exchangeable forms and carbonates and organic fraction, can be a good indicator of strong adsorption of cadmium in soil for earthworms. In general, the use of organic fertilizers with earthworms increased cadmium in the organic sector.

Keywords

References

Adriano D., 1986. Heavy metal metals in the environment Springer-Verlag. New York.
Aghababaei F., Raiesi F., and Hosseinpur A., 2014. The combined effects of earthworms and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on microbial biomass and enzyme activities in a calcareous soil spiked with cadmium. Applied Soil Ecology, 75: 33-42.
Antoniadis, V., and Alloway, B. 2002. The role of dissolved organic carbon in the mobility of Cd, Ni and Zn in sewage sludge-amended soils. Environmental Pollution, 117: 515-521.
Arnold R., and Hodson M. 2007. Effect of time and mode of depuration on tissue copper concentrations of the earthworms Eisenia andrei, Lumbricus rubellus and Lumbricus terrestris. Environmental Pollution, 148: 21-30.
Aseman E., Mostafaei G., Sayaf H., Asgharnia H., Akbari H., Iranshahi L. 2015. Investigation of bioremediation of soils contaminated with chromium and cadmium by earthworms Eisenia fetida. Health and the Environment, 8: 357-366.
Bauycos G.J. 1962. Hydrometer methods improved for making particle size of soils. Agronomy Journal, 56: 464-465.
Berlin M., 1985. Handbook of the toxicology of metals. Elsevier Science Publishers, 2nd Ed. London. Bhagwant, S. & Bhikagee, M. 2000. Induction of hypochromic Macrocytic Anemia in Oreohromis hybrid the dependency on exposure time. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 9 (2): 179-88.
Brown G.G., Barois, I., and Lavelle, P. 2000. Regulation of soil organic matter dynamics and microbial activityin the drilosphere and the role of interactions with other edaphic functional domains. European Journal of Soil Biology, 36: 177-198.
Caravaca F., and Roldan A. 2003. Assessing changes in physical and biological properties in a soil contaminated by oil sludges under semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Geoderma, 117: 53-61.
Chapman P.M., Allen H.E., Godtfredsen K., and Z'Graggen M.N. 1996. Policy analysis, peer reviewed: Evaluation of bioaccumulation factors in regulating metals. Environmental Science & Technology, 30: 448A-452A.
Cheng J., Wong M.H. 2002. Effects of earthworms on Zn fractionation in soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 36: 72-78.
Cicek A., and Koparal A.S. 2004. Accumulation of sulphur heavy metals in soil and tree leaves sampled from the surroundings of Tuncbilek thermal power plant. Chemosphere, 57: 1031-1036.
Dai J., Becquer T., Rouiller J.H., Reversat G., Bernhard-Reversat F., Nahmani J., and Lavelle P. 2004. Heavy metal accumulation by two earthworm species and its relationship to total and DTPA-extractable metals in soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 36: 91-98.
Edwards C.A., and Bohlen P.J., 1996. Biology and Ecology of Earthworms, 3th Ed. Chapman and Hall, London.
Feng Peng F., Hui Song, Y., Yuan P., Cui X., and Qiu, G. 2009. The remediation of heavy metals contaminated sediment. Hazardous Materials, 161: 633–640.
Feng W., Banner J.L., Guilfoyle A.L., Musgrove M., and James E.W. 2012. Oxygen isotopic fractionation between drip water and speleothem calcite: A 10-year monitoring study, central Texas, USA. Chemical Geology, 304-305: 53-67.
Hobbelen P., Koolhaas J., and Van Gestel, C. 2006. Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the earthworms Lumbricus rubellus and Aporrectodea caliginosa in relation to total and available metal concentrations in field soils. Environmental Pollution, 144: 639-646.
Hopkin S.P. 1989. Ecophysiology of metals in invertebrates. Elsevier Applied Science, London.
Waisberg M., Joseph P., Hale B., and Beyersmann D. 2003. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of cadmium carcinogenesis. Toxicology, 192: 95-117
Kızılkaya R., and Hepsen S. 2004. Effect of biosolid amendment on enzyme activities in earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) casts. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 167: 202-208.
Lanno R., Wells J., Conder J., Bradham K., and Basta N. 2004. The bioavailability of chemicals in soil for earthworms. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 57: 39-47.
Lasat M.M., Baker A.J.M., and Kochian L.V. 1998. Altered Zn compartmentation in the root symplasm and stimulated Zn absorbtion into the leaf as mechanisms involved in Zn hyperaccumulation in Thlaspi caerulescens. Plant Physiology, 112: 1715-1722.
Li Z., Ma Z., van der Kuijp T.J., Yuan Z., and Huang L. 2014. A review of soil heavy metal pollution from mines in China: pollution and health risk assessment. Science of the Total Environment, 468: 843-853.
Ma Y., Dickinson N.M., and Wong M.H. 2002. Toxicity of Pb/Zn mine tailings to the earthworm Pheretima and effects of burrowing on metal availability. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 36: 79-86
Marino F., and Morgan A. 1999. The time-course of metal (Ca, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) accumulation from a contaminated soil by three populations of the earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus. Applied Soil Ecology, 12: 169-177.
Martin A. 1991. Short and long term effects of the endogenic earthworms Millsonia anomala of tropical savannas, on soil organic matter. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 11: 234-238.
Nannoni F., Protano G., and Riccobono F. 2011. Fractionation and geochemical mobility of heavy elements in soils of a mining area in northern Kosovo. Geoderma, 161: 63-73.
Nannoni F., Protano G., and Riccobono F. 2011. Uptake and bioaccumulation of heavy elements by two earthworm species from a smelter contaminated area in northern Kosovo. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43(12): 2359-2367. ‏
Nahmani J., Hodson M.E., and Black S. 2007. A review of studies performed to assess metal uptake by earthworms. Environmental Pollution, 145: 402-424.
Reinecke A.J. 1992. A review of ecotoxicological test methods using earthworms.In:In: Greig-Smith P.W., Becker H., Edwards, P.J., and Heimbach, F. (Eds.), Ecotoxicology of Earthworms. Intercept, Hants, Pp.7-19.
Richardson M.L., and Gangollil S. 1993. The Dictionary of substances and their effects, vol.2C.Royal Society of Chemistry, London, UK.
Roades J.D. 1996. Salinity: Electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids." Methods of soil analysis: Part 3 Chemical methods 5. Madison. Wisconsin, USA.  417-436.
Rowell D.L. 1994. Soil science methods and Application, part7. Measurement of the composition of soil solution. PP. 146.
Ruiz E., Rodríguez L., and Alonso-Azcárate J. 2009. Effects of earthworms on metal uptake of heavy metals from polluted mine soils by different crop plants. Chemosphere, 75: 1035-1041.
Ruiz E., Alonso-Azcárate J., and Rodríguez L. 2011. Lumbricus terrestris L. activity increases the availability of metals and their accumulation in maize and barley. Environmental Pollution, 159(3), 722-728. ‏
Shahmansouri M., Pourmoghadas H., Parvaresh A., and Alidadi H. 2005. Heavy metals bioaccumulation by Iranian and Australian earthworms (Eisenia fetida) in the sewage sludge vermicomposting. Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering, 2(1): 28-32.
Sharma S., and Prasad F.M. 2010. Accumulation of lead and cadmium in soil and vegetable crops along major highways in Agra (India). Electronic Journal of Chemistry, 7(4): 1174-1183.
Sun H, Li J, Wang C, Wang L, Wang Y. 2011. Enhanced microbial removal of pyrene in soils in the presence of earthworms. Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, 20(6): 617-30.
Sizmur T., and Hodson M.E. 2009. Do earthworms impact metal mobility and availability in soil? –A review. Environmental Pollution, 157(7): 1981-89.
Sizmur T., Tilston E.L., Charnock J., Palumbo-Roe B., Watts M.J., and Hodson M.E. 2011. Impacts of epigeic, anecic and endogeic earthworms on metal and metalloid mobility and availability. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 13: 266-273.
Sposito G., Lund L.J. and Chang A.C. 1982. Trace metal chemistry in arid zone field soils amended with sewage sludge: I. fractionation of Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in solid phases. Soil Science Society of America Journal,  46: 260-264
Slizovskiy I.B., Kelsey J.W. 2010. Soil sterilization affects aging-related sequestration and bioavailability of p, p′-DDE and anthracene to earthworms. Environmental Pollution, 158(10): 3285-89.
Udovic M., Lestan D. 2010. Fractionation and bioavailability of Cu in soil remediated by EDTA leaching and processed by earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris L). Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 17: 561-570.
Walkey A., and Black I.A. 1934. An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science, 37: 29-38.
Wang X.S., 2009. Antimony in urban roadside surface soils: concentration, source and mode of occurrence. Open Environmental Pollution & Toxicology Journal., 1: 89-92.
Wen B., Hu X., Liu Y., Wang W., Feng M., Shan X. 2004. The role of earthworms (Eisenia fetida) in influencing bioavailability of heavy metals in soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 40: 181-187.
Wen B., Liu Y., Hu X., and Shan X. 2006. Effect of earthworms (Eisenia fetida) on the fractionation and bioavailability of rare earth elements in nine Chinese soils. Chemosphere, 63: 1179-1186.
Wiegleb G., and Felinks B. 2001. Predictability of early stages of primary succession in post‐mining landscapes of Lower Lusatia, Germany. Applied Vegetation Science, 4: 5-18.
Zaltauskaite J., Sodiene I. 2010. Effects of total cadmium and lead concentrations in soil on the growth, reproduction and survival of earthworm Eisenia fetida. Ekologija, 56(1-2):10-16.
Applied Soil Research
Volume 9, Issue 2
September 2021
Pages 116-129

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 10 November 2019
  • Revise Date: 14 September 2020
  • Accept Date: 16 September 2020

Share

How to cite

Statistics