How to translate text using browser tools
25 February 2020 Barley (Hordeum vulgare) seedling growth declines with increasing exposure to silver nanoparticles in biosolid-amended soils
Mónica González Linares, Yu Jia, Geoffrey I. Sunahara, Joann K. Whalen
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), a component of many consumer products, are considered an environmental risk due to the broad-spectrum toxicity of Ag+ to non-target organisms. Most AgNPs released from consumer products will end up as biosolids in wastewater treatment plants, which are often applied as a fertilizer to agriculture. Land application of biosolids may add AgNPs to the soil–plant system, with unknown consequences. This study investigated the growth of Hordeum vulgare seedlings, Ag bioconcentration and distribution in shoot and root tissues of barley exposed to biosolid-amended Delacour and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) soils spiked with AgNPs (up to 366 mg Ag kg-1 dry soil). In both soils, root and shoot growth declined linearly as the concentration of AgNPs increased. Barley had higher Ag bioconcentration values when grown in the OECD soil than in the Delacour soil. Silver bioavailability was greater in the OECD soil due to its physicochemical properties, such as low calcium concentration and acidic pH, relative to the Delacour soil. Barley seedlings exhibited morphological changes, including smaller shoots and shorter, thick roots after 14 d exposure to AgNPs. We conclude that plant structural responses, particularly changes in root biomass, could be an early diagnostic of seedling exposure to AgNPs in biosolid-amended soils.

Copyright remains with the author(s) or their institution(s). Permission for reuse (free in most cases) can be obtained from RightsLink.
Mónica González Linares, Yu Jia, Geoffrey I. Sunahara, and Joann K. Whalen "Barley (Hordeum vulgare) seedling growth declines with increasing exposure to silver nanoparticles in biosolid-amended soils," Canadian Journal of Soil Science 100(3), 189-197, (25 February 2020). https://doi.org/10.1139/cjss-2019-0135
Received: 3 November 2019; Accepted: 7 February 2020; Published: 25 February 2020
JOURNAL ARTICLE
9 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Ag nanoparticles
Artificial soil
barley
biosolids
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top