[Effect of Nano Zeolite on Chemical Fractions of Cd in Soil and Its Uptake by Cabbage]

Incubation experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of different nano zeolite (NZ) and ordinary zeolite (OZ) levels(0, 5, 10 and 20 g · kg⁻¹) on the change trends in fraction distribution coefficient (FDC) of Cd when exposed to different Cadmium (Cd) levels (1, 5, 10 and 15 mg · kg⁻¹), and pot experiments were carried out to investigate their influence on soil Cd fraction and Cd uptake by cabbage. The results in incubation experiments showed that the application of nano zeolite as well as ordinary zeolite effectively decreased the FDC of exchangeable Cd and increased the FDC of Fe-Mn oxide fraction. The FDC of soil Cd from 0 d to 28 d was deceased at first, then increased and tended to be stable, and finally increased. At the end of incubation, the FDC of soil exchangeable Cd decreased from 72.0%-88.0% to 30.0%-66.4%. Exchangeable fraction Cd was the most dominant Cd fraction in soil during the whole incubation. The results in pot experiment indicated that the application of nano zeolite and ordinary zeolite decreased the concentration and FDC of soil exchangeable Cd, and concurrently the concentration and FDC of Cd in carbonate, Fe-Mn oxide, organic matter and residual fraction were increased. The lowest EX-Cd was observed in the treatment with high dose of nano zeolite (20 g · kg⁻¹). The FDC of exchangeable Cd showed significant negative relationship with the soil pH (P0.05), and was concurrently extremely positively correlated with Cd concentration in shoot and root of cabbage (P0.01). Soil pH increased by 1.8%-45.5% and 6.1%-54.3% in the presence of zeolite when exposed to 5 mg · kg⁻¹ 1 and Cd, respectively; FDC of exchangeable Cd decreased by 16.3%-47.7% and 16.2%-46.7%; Cd concentration in each tissues of cabbage decreased by 1.0%-75.0% and 3.8%-53.2%, respectively. Moreover, the reduction effect of nano zeolite on soil and plant Cd was better than that of ordinary zeolite. The growth of cabbage was stimulated by low and medium zeolite doses (≤ 10 g · kg⁻¹), while inhibited by high zeolite doses (20 g · kg⁻¹). Compared to ordinary zeolite, the biomass of Chinese cabbage was significantly increased by Nano zeolite, while the exchangeable Cd in soil as well as Cd concentration and Cd accumulation of cabbage were significantly reduced.