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Evaluation of uptake of eight metals by Sorghum bicolor grown in arable soil combined with sewage sludge based on prediction models

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Abstract

Prediction models were developed to estimate the extent to which aluminium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc were absorbed in the grains, leaves, stems, and roots of Sorghum bicolor cultivated in soil with various amendment rate of sewage sludge (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g/kg) under greenhouse conditions. It was found that, aside from lead, all the examined metals occurred in significantly higher content in the roots compared to aerial tissues. Furthermore, the r-values were significantly negative between the bioconcentration factors of all metals, apart from aluminium and lead, and soil pH, whereas they were significantly positive between the bioconcentration factors, apart from lead, and soil organic matter content (OM). The r-values were typically significantly positive between the levels of all eight metals in the investigated tissues and in the soil. Moreover, the content of all the eight metals in the tissues exhibited a significant negative r-value with soil pH but a significant positive r-value with soil OM. The eight metal contents in the tissues given by the prediction models were quite similar to the real values, suggesting that the created models performed well, as shown by t-tests. It was thus concluded that prediction models were a viable option for evaluating how safe it was to grow S. bicolor in soils with sewage sludge content and at the same time for keeping track of possible human health hazards.

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The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This research work was funded by the Scientific Research Deanship at King Khalid University and the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia through the project number IFP-KKU-2020/3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, 31527, Egypt

    Kamal H. Shaltout & Nasser Sewelam

  2. Biology Department, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, 61321, Saudi Arabia

    Saad A. M. Alamri, Sulaiman A. Alrumman, Ahmed A. Hussain & Ebrahem M. Eid

  3. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh, 33516, Egypt

    Ebrahem M. Eid

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  1. Kamal H. Shaltout
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  2. Saad A. M. Alamri
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  3. Sulaiman A. Alrumman
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  4. Ahmed A. Hussain
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  5. Nasser Sewelam
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  6. Ebrahem M. Eid
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Contributions

K.H. Shaltout: writing — original draft, supervision; S.A.M. Alamri: project administration, writing — review & editing; S.A. Alrumman: project administration, writing — review and editing; A.A. Hussain: methodology; N. Sewelam: writing — review & editing; E.M. Eid: conceptualisation, formal analysis, investigation, writing — review and editing, visualisation, funding acquisition. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Shaltout, K.H., Alamri, S.A.M., Alrumman, S.A. et al. Evaluation of uptake of eight metals by Sorghum bicolor grown in arable soil combined with sewage sludge based on prediction models. Environ Monit Assess 193, 510 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09320-7

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