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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2016, Vol. 15 Issue (10): 2393-2402    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61261-8
Soil & Fertilization﹒Irrigation﹒Plant Nutrition﹒ Agro-Ecology & Environment Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Prediction model for mercury transfer from soil to corn grain and its cross-species extrapolation
HU Hai-yan1, LI Zhao-jun1, FENG Yao1, LIU Yuan-wang1, XUE Jian-ming2, Murray Davis2, LIANG Yong-chao3
1 Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture/China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory for Soil Molecular Ecology, Beijing 100081, P.R. China
2 Scion, Christchurch 29-237, New Zealand
3 College of Environmental and Resources, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, P.R.China
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Abstract      In this study the transfer characteristics of mercury (Hg) from a wide range of Chinese soils to corn grain (cultivar Zhengdan 958) were investigated. Prediction models were developed for determining the Hg bioconcentration factor (BCF) of Zhengdan 958 from soil, including the soil properties, such as pH, organic matter (OM) concentration, cation exchange capacity (CEC), total nitrogen concentration (TN), total phosphorus concentration (TP), total potassium concentration (TK), and total Hg concentration (THg), using multiple stepwise regression analysis. These prediction models were applied to other non-model corn cultivars using a cross-species extrapolation approach. The results indicated that the soil pH was the most important factor associated with the transfer of Hg from soil to corn grain. Hg bioaccumulation in corn grain increased with the decreasing pH. No significant differences were found between two prediction models derived from different rates of Hg applied to the soil as HgCl2. The prediction models established in this study can be applied to other non-model corn cultivars and are useful for predicting Hg bioconcentration in corn grain and assessing the ecological risk of Hg in different soils.
Keywords:  soils        corn grain        bioconcentration factor (BCF)        prediction model, Hg  
Received: 11 August 2015   Accepted:
Fund: 

This work was jointly supported by the Special Fund of Public Industry in China (Agriculture, 200903015) and the Science and Technology Project of Hebei Province, China (15227504D).

Corresponding Authors:  LI Zhao-jun, Tel: +86-10-82108657, Fax: +86-10-82106225, E-mail: lizhaojun@caas.cn    
About author:  HU Hai-yan, E-mail: huhaiyan02@caas.cn

Cite this article: 

HU Hai-yan, LI Zhao-jun, FENG Yao, LIU Yuan-wang, XUE Jian-ming, Murray Davis, LIANG Yong-chao. 2016. Prediction model for mercury transfer from soil to corn grain and its cross-species extrapolation. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 15(10): 2393-2402.

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