Comparison of amendments applied to an arsenic contaminated soil from a mining area and their effect on plant growth

Abstract

Three amendments (iron oxides, Fe; organic matter, MO; calcium phosphate, PCa) were applied to a naturally contaminated soil with arsenic and their effect on the growth of tomato plants and Italian parsley was studied. The results indicate differences associated with the availability of arsenic in the soil in the presence of amendments: Fe had no influence on arsenic availability compared with the unamended soil, while MO and PCa increased the availability of arsenic. Though both plant species have been affected by arsenic toxicity, the response to treatments relatively to plant growth was different. Tomato plants presented greater growth in terms of height, leaf length, relative chlorophyll content, dry weight and fruit production when MO was used as amendment. By the contrary, the Italian parsley presented the best growth when PCa (12 g kg^-1) was added to the contaminated soil.