Combining biochar and grass-legume mixture to improve the phytoremediation of soils contaminated with potentially toxic elements (PTEs)

The combination of soil amendments with plants can be a viable option for restoring the functionality of PTEs-contaminated soils. Soil recovery could be further optimized through the mixed cropping of plant species (e.g. legumes and grasses) with different physiological characteristics. The aim of this study was to assess the phytoremediation ability of Vicia villosa Roth. And Lolium rigidum Gaud. Grown alone or in mixture in a soil contaminated with PTEs (C), i.e. Cd (23 mg kg−1), Pb (4473 mg kg−1) and Zn (3147 mg kg−1), and amended with 3% biochar (C + B). Biochar improved soil fertility and changed PTEs distribution, reducing soluble fractions and increasing the more stable ones. The addition of biochar increased the plant biomass of hairy vetch and annual ryegrass, both in monoculture and when in mixture. For example, shoot and root biomass of the C + B intercropped hairy vetch and annual ryegrass increased 9- and 7-fold, and ∼3-fold respectively, compared to the respective C plants. The biochar addition decreased PTE-uptake by both plants, while mixed cropping increased the uptake of PTEs by shoots of hairy vetch grown in C and C + B. The bioaccumulation, translocation factors, and mineralomass showed that hairy vetch and annual ryegrass behaved as phytostabilising plants. PTE mineralomasses proved that mixed cropping in C + B increased the overall capacity of PTE accumulation by plant tissues, particularly the root system. Therefore, the combination of biochar and legumes/grasses mixed cropping could be an effective solution for the recovery of PTEs-contaminated soils and the mitigation of their environmental hazard.