Baseflow is one of the major pathways of runoff in hilly areas, and its contributions to surface water resources and pollutant loads cannot be ignored. In this study, based on water quantity and quality data from 1988 to 2019 in hilly and low rainfall watersheds, we focused on the impact of long-term baseflow on nitrogen load using the load allocation based on the baseflow separation method. We also constructed a nitrogen balance model for the Chaohe River Basin of China from 2012 to 2021 to analyze the nitrogen accumulation in the basin. We used the baseflow nitrogen load lag analysis method to study the lag characteristics of the baseflow discharge process and analyzed the response and periodicity of baseflow nitrogen to precipitation and soil accumulation using time delay analysis. The results showed that the contribution rate of baseflow nitrogen reached 69% and showed a slight increasing trend from 1988 to 2019. The effects of changes in precipitation and nitrogen accumulation on the baseflow contribution was observed after 1-2 and 2 yr, respectively. After nitrogen accumulation, it entered the river channel through baseflow, which was already the main and continuous source of nitrogen in rivers in hilly areas.

Rapid expansion of irrigated agriculture in semi-arid regions alters the global carbon cycle and terrestrial soil carbon pools, in particular the potential for inorganic carbon sequestration in soils. Current research on soil inorganic carbon (SIC) pools in irrigated farmland focuses on local scale. The impact of irrigated agriculture on soil inorganic carbon pools and sequestration potential at the regional scale should be addressed. This study investigates soil carbon pools and inorganic carbon sequestration potential under intensive irrigated agriculture in alluvial plains in semi-arid climates. We chose the North China Plain (NCP), a traditional intensive agricultural region in China with long-term irrigation practices. Appling the national soil field survey data, we calculated soil inorganic carbon, organic carbon, estimated the content of the total soil carbon pool and the inorganic carbon sequestration potential and assessed the distribution characteristics. The SIC density and storage in fluvisols of irrigated farmland in the NCP were estimated to be 13.21 kgC·m−2 and 2.58 PgC, respectively. SIC densities accounts for 70% of the soil carbon pool. It is inferred that irrigated dryland in semi-arid regions has a considerable soil inorganic carbon pool and inorganic carbon sequestration potentials. The SIC pools in mineral soil horizon beneath plough horizon account for 75.8–78.11% of the total SIC storages. Soil inorganic carbon pools are easily lost through leaching and deposition in the lower part of the soil due to irrigation. We find that due to irrigation and atmospheric precipitation, the top layer of the soil is constantly being replenished with carbonate. Spatial distribution of inorganic carbon pools on floodplains is related to river-related geomorphology. This study provides a SIC perspective for the study of soil carbon pools in agricultural fields and complements the knowledge of carbon sequestration potential.

Soils develop via a complex interaction of time, environment, climate, and human activity. As a proxy for paleoclimate reconstruction, soils have received less attention than other geological systems, and the limited attention was concentrated in loess sequences. Fluvisols form a subrecent natural archive that documents mid-term pedogenic processes and environmental change in floodplains. We investigated the pedological characteristics and pedogenesis of fluvisols in the Beijing region and presented a Late Holocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on it. We applied the radiocarbon dating method to investigate soil formation in the floodplain of the North Canal in Beijing’s southeast suburbs. Soil morphology, soil texture, and environmental physical–chemical indicators (calcium carbonate, organic matter, total phosphorus, and total potassium) were selected for comprehensive analysis. Thorough integrated interpretation of soil development processes in the fluvisols sequence revealed regional paleoenvironmental and climatic developments. The paleoclimate of Beijing underwent a transition from warm and humid to temperate and dry, as well as multiple cold fluctuations. Multiple humic burial horizons in the fluvisol sequence were overlain by a mineral soil horizon with weak soil formation, indicating that fluvic geology processes interrupted the process of the fluvisol formation, corresponding to cold-dry fluctuations in a warm-humid paleoclimatic context in Beijing floodplain. There is a correlation between paleoclimatic environmental conditions and soil texture, organic matter, calcium carbonate, and other physical and chemical properties in the soil chronology. As an emerging paleoenvironmental proxy, the geological process and soil-forming process of fluvisols inferred from soil properties can reconstruct the variation of paleoclimatic-environmental conditions. Fluvisol sequence build-up and illuviated accumulation of mineral material in the soil complex were more pronounced in warm and humid climatic conditions. Millennia of farming practices dominate the development of the uppermost fluvisols. Environmental reconstruction based on fluvisol soil properties is complementary to reconstruction drawing on other prevalent paleoclimate proxies. Fluvisol characterisation allows to disentangle gradual paleoenvironmental developments, including changes of climate, vegetation, and topography.

Estimating the variation of carbon emissions and vegetation carbon sequestration, and understanding the coupling coordination relationships between carbon emissions and the eco-environment are essential for promoting sustainable development. To analyze the distribution of carbon emissions, a calculation model for carbon emissions was proposed through integrating nighttime light datasets and land use data. The results showed that the model proposed was appropriate and reliable for carbon emissions on land of different utilization types. The distribution of vegetation carbon sequestration was estimated by the CASA model. The combined results showed that carbon emissions have been greater than vegetation carbon sinks in Beijing from 2003 to 2019, with the difference reaching a maximum in 2007 and showing an overall trend of first increasing and then decreasing from 2003 to 2019. The northern and southwestern area in Beijing had a stronger carbon sink capacity, and carbon emissions were mainly concentrated in the southwest region of Beijing. Additionally, we analyzed the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between carbon emissions (CE) and the eco-environment (EE). The CCD showed a fluctuating upward trend in Beijing from 2003 to 2019, and 16 districts were all out of a moderate-decoupled state in 2015. This study will enrich the body of carbon emission and vegetation NPP research at the district level and will provide scientific support to the achievement of “Dual Carbon” targets in Beijing and other Chinese cities.

The expansion of the urban-rural fringe (URF) has greatly boosted the economy, but haphazard building and chaotic management have severely harmed the soil, particularly valuable arable land resources. The majority of studies have focused on the regional identification of URF, with little research on the influence of URF on soil quality. The soil quality index (SQI) method was used in this study to compare the soil quality of reclaimed land (FKD) in the URF to nearby grain fields (GD), open-air vegetable plots (CD), and facility vegetable plots (DP) in Daxing District, Beijing, China. The results indicated that the SQI of FKD was much lower than that of other land utilization types. Soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen, and phosphorus levels were low in FKD and might be improved with proper fertilization in subsequent management. The contents of Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, and total po-tassium (TK) in FKD were not statistically different from those in GD and CD, but the urease and sucrase activities in FKD were significantly lower than those in the other three land use patterns. A minimum data set including SOC, available phosphorus, TK, clay, Mn, and Zn was obtained for soil quality assessment using principal component analysis with Norm value and correlation analysis. Soil trace elements were standardized using an "optimum is better" scoring function using the 75th percentile of the element background values as the threshold. To our knowledge, this is the first time in soil quality assessment that the 75th percentile of the element background value for a specific soil type has been chosen as the optimum value.

Purpose Land and soil surveys are of significance to investigate the conditions of land or soil in certain regions. The determination of soil texture type relies on the fundamental laboratory measurement of soil physical granulometric composition. Traditional approaches cannot be used finely in the field. In this paper, the relationship between soil texture and high-resolution field soil images was established. The android application was developed based on the pHash to determine soil texture type in the field investigation. Materials and methods The whole experiment is divided into three sections-preparation of field and standardized soil samples, development of the android application, and the verification of the android application. A total of 37 arable soil samples from different geographical locations with various typical soil texture types were taken during the national land survey in China. Necessary pretreatment with soil samples was done before laboratory analysis. The standardized soil image database was established by uploading standardized soil images. The JAVA language is applied to realize the pHash of the application by IntelliJ IDEA. Physical particle clay and sand content are the chosen indicators to describe the soil granulometric composition quantificationally for the verification part-these two contents of each sample were measured by both the pipette method and the android application more than three times separately-then contrast the testing results to indicate the performance of the android application. Results and discussion Fitting performances of the pipette method and android application reached 89.23% in all group results. The statistical analysis of the difference between the two approaches is not significant (p > 0.05). It is believed that increasing the training number can improve this android application in subsequent studies. Our research changes the idea of determining the soil texture from direct measurements to intermediate comparison, which makes soil texture in-field detection feasible. Conclusions This android application extends the measure tools by learning the thought of computerized algorithms. The measurement results of the application show accuracy and repeatability during the determination of soil granulometric composition, compared with the ones of the pipette method. Android application based on the perceptual hashing algorithm can be friendly used during land and soil surveys, as well as other field studies.

As one of the largest electronic waste (e-waste) disassembling sites in China, environmental quality and human health of Longtang town have always been the focus of concern and research. With the effective enforcement of relevant laws, most informal e-waste dismantling centers have been shut down, but heavy metals are non-biodegradable and easily enriched contaminants that are difficult to remove from the environment. This research investigated the heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, As, and Cr) level in sediments, water, paddy soils, and the matched rice plants in Longtang, and assessed the potential ecological risk and human health risk of heavy metals. The results showed that the heavy metal content was highest in the sediment, followed by paddy soil and rice, the lowest in water, and the surface water was higher than groundwater. In the paddy soil, the heavy metal content in the topsoil was the highest, and all exceeded the soil background value of Guangdong Province, and the level of Cu (129.45 mg kg−1), Cd (0.44 mg kg−1), and Pb (100.63 mg kg−1) exceeded the national risk screening value (GB 15618-2018). Compared with previous studies, the contents of Cd, Cu, and Zn in soil showed a downward trend. Potential ecological risk assessment showed that the risk level of Cd in the topsoil was high, and the risk levels of Cd and Cu in the sediment were very high and considerable, respectively, posing a major risk to human health. In rice plants, heavy metals mainly accumulated in the roots of rice, and their migration ability in rice tissues was poor. The heavy metal level in grain was within the threshold value set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC, CXS 193-1995) or China (GB 2762-2017), and the risk level to human health was low. Accordingly, it is imperative to continuously monitor the content of heavy metals in the sediment and soil of Longtang, especially Cu and Cd.

Current researches found some terrestrial animals absorb petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) in oil-polluted soil. However, the absorption behaviour between various biological tissues remains unclear. The aim of our study is to determine the toxic effects and enrichment behaviours of earthworms (Eisenia fetida) in petroleum-contaminated soils and to provide a reasonable dynamics model to explain the migration of PHCs within earthworm tissues. The PHCs are divided into three fractions by equivalent carbon number. An experimental analysis of the PHC concentrations in 3 different earthworm organ systems (body-wall tissue, body fluid and gut tissue) from a contamination exposure experiment at different time intervals was implemented. A dynamics model was built to simulate the absorption mechanism. The model results perform well. The PHC concentrations in the earthworm tissues were gut > body fluid > body wall. The PHCs in the gut reached equilibrium first, and those in the body-wall tissues reached equilibrium last. In the gut tissue, the PHC concentration was different from those in the body-wall tissue and body fluid due to the influence of the feeding rule. In addition, as the length of the carbon chain increases, the molecular size increases, which makes it more difficult for petroleum hydrocarbon fractions to enter an organ system. As a result, the concentration of PHCs in each type of tissue decreases with increasing carbon chain length. This study can provide a theoretical foundation for chemical monitoring in soil.

Objective Radioactive cesium (Cs) was a mian cause of soil radioactive contamination. This study aimed at exploring the effect of montmorillonite on the transfer of cesium in soil-soybean system to provide theoretical basis for the remediation and evaluate bioavailability. Methods Varied montmorillonite were added to the Cs contaminated soil and pot experiments were conducted on soybean[Glycine max (L.) Merr.] uptake Cs in a green house. The bioavailability of Cs in roots directly contact soil, rhizosphere soil and non rhizosphere soil were analyzed with three different extractants. Results Adding 0.5 ％ montmorillonite could significantly decrease Cs transportation, and the concentration ratio (CR) of roots, stems and leaves were 51 ％、76 ％ and 66 ％ respectively. The content of extracted Cs was in the order: NH4OAc＞HAc＞MgCl2. The exchangeable content extracted by NH4OAc was 10 times of the other two. There were positive correlation between exchangeable phrase Cs content by HAc and the Cs content in soybean organs.Conclusion By comparison analysis, 0.5％ montmorillonite in experiment soil can be used as an optimal choice for soil remediation of Cs pollution. Meanwhile, HAc can be used as a reference to evaluate the bioavailability of Cs in soil.

目的 探讨铯(Cs)通过大豆根系吸收,从土壤向大豆迁移及其在大豆各组织器官中的分布特征.方法 分别以土壤Cs背景值的1倍(5.37 mg/kg)、2倍(13.78 mg/kg)、10倍(49.64 mg/kg)、15倍(77.14 mg/kg)、20倍(97.26 mg/kg)和25倍(126.30 mg/kg)温室盆栽大豆56 d.采用石墨炉原子吸收光谱(GF-AAS)法检测土壤以及大豆果实、叶、茎和根系中的Cs含量.结果 Cs在大豆的根中含量最高,叶中含量次之,茎和果实中的含量最少并且相当.随土壤中Cs含量的增加,大豆各器官的迁移系数(TF)较稳定.根的富集率(CR)较其他器官高,果实、叶和茎中的CR随着土壤中Cs含量的升高而呈上升的趋势.大豆果实、叶、茎、根中的Cs含量间均呈正相关(P＜0.01),同时,土壤与大豆各器官中的Cs含量间也均呈正相关(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).结论 大豆各器官对Cs有一定蓄积作用.

Sugars and n-alkanes are important organic constituents of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) For better understanding their sources and seasonal variations in urban atmosphere, sugar compounds (anhydrosugars, sugars and sugar alcohols) and homologue n-alkanes (C-18-C-37) were studied in PM(2.)5 samples collected from September 2013 to July 2014 in Beijing, China. In general, all measured compounds showed the lowest levels in summer. Higher concentrations of sugar compounds and n-alkanes were observed in winter, probably due to elevated combustion emissions (e.g., coal, biofuel and agricultural residue burning) and stable meteorological conditions during heating season. Levoglucosan was the major sugar species in all seasons particularly in autumn and winter, highlighting the significant contribution of biomass burning to fine organic aerosols throughout the whole year especially in cold seasons. Plant waxes contributed to n-alkanes the most in late spring (54.5%) and the least in winter (11.6%); while fossil fuel combustion had the largest contribution in winter (385 ng m(-3)). The weak odd carbon predominance of n-alkanes in wintertime aerosols also suggests fossil fuel combustion as the important source of organic aerosols in the heating season. Soil resuspension, fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, and secondary sources are the main sources of OC in PM2.5 at Beijing. The seasonal variation in source contributions indicates that meteorological condition is a key factor in controlling PM2.5 levels. Furthermore, dust storms in spring can strongly enhance the atmospheric level of fine organic matter in Beijing. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular composition and abundance of sugars and secondary organic aerosols (SOA) from biogenic sources over the East China Sea were investigated based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Biogenic SOA tracers and sugars exhibit higher levels in the samples affected by continental air masses, demonstrating the terrestrial outflows of organic matter to the East China Sea. Glucose was the dominant sugar species (0.31–209, 18.8 ng m−3), followed by mannitol – a fungal spore tracer. All sugar compounds show generally higher average concentrations in the nighttime than in the daytime. 3-Methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid, one higher generation photooxidation tracer of monoterpene SOA, was found to be the most abundant species among measured biogenic SOA markers, suggesting the input of aged organic aerosols through long-range transport. Fungal-spore-derived organic carbon (OC) was the biggest contributor to total OC (0.03 %–19.8 %, 3.1 %), followed by sesquiterpene-derived secondary OC (SOC), biomass-burning-derived OC, and monoterpene- and isoprene-derived SOC. Larger carbon percentages of biogenic primary OCs and SOCs in total OC presented in the terrestrially influenced aerosols indicate significant contributions of continental aerosols through long-range transport. Positive matrix factorization results illustrate that the secondary nitrate and biogenic SOA, biomass burning, and fungal spores were the main sources of OC in marine aerosols over the East China Sea, again highlighting the importance of the Asian continent as a natural emitter of biogenic organic aerosols together with anthropogenic aerosols over the coastal marine atmosphere.

Awareness of the importance of marine atmosphere for accurately estimating global aerosol budget and climate impacts has arisen recently. However, studies are limited due to the difficulty and inconvenience in sampling as well as the diversity of sources. In this study, the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model was applied to investigate the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and its chemical components over the East China Sea (ECS) and offshore regions. In spite of slight under-predictions, model predictions agree well with observations over the ECS and along the coast. PM2.5 and its major components in the mainland are higher than in marine area, suggesting Asian continent is a major emitter of marine aerosols. PM2.5 and its components in marine regions show higher abundance during daytime than nighttime, while it is opposite in continental regions. Aerosol phase SO42- is the most abundant component of PM2.5 over the ECS with an average concentration of 5.12 mu g m(-3), followed by NH4+ (1.02 mu g m(-3)) and primary organic aerosol (POA) (0.92 mu g m(-3)). Industry and ship emissions are the top two contributors to primary (PPM) and total PM2.5 over the ECS, while industry and agriculture sectors are major sources for secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA), followed by ship emissions. For terrestrial regions, industry and agriculture are predominant sources of PM2.5 and SIA, while industry and residential activities are the top two contributors to PPM. This study improves the understanding of transport and accumulation of air pollutants over the ECS and adjacent regions, and provides useful information for designing efficient control strategies. (c) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.

We have previously reported that Ricinus communis is a good candidate for the phytoremediation of Cd- and Zn-contaminated soil and for fuel production. In this study, changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; and guaiacol peroxidase, POD) and the contents of chlorophyll and malondialdehyde (MDA) in R. communis leaves under Cu, Zn, and Cd stress were examined. Compounds from the exudate of R. communis roots were collected and analyzed using GC-MS chromatograms. The results of enzyme activity showed that Cd treatment significantly increased the SOD content of R. communis leaves and slightly elevated the CAT content, whereas the POD content increased markedly at low Cd treatment concentrations and decreased as Cd concentrations increased. Zn treatment distinctly elevated SOD and POD content in R. communis leaves but had no great influence on CAT content. Cu treatment slightly increased CAT activity, while Cu did not evidently change SOD and POD activity. We found 17, 29, 18, 18, and 33 different compounds in the R. communis root exudates from the control group and Cd, Cu, Zn, and Cd+Cu+Zn treatment groups, respectively. The root exudates mainly included ester, alcohol, ether, amide, acid, phenol, alkanes, ketone, aromatic hydrocarbon, and nitrile compounds. However, the root exudates of R. communis grown in uncontaminated soils were dominated by esters, alcohols, and ethers. Single Cu or Zn treatment slightly changed the root exudates, which were dominated by esters, alcohols, and amides. In the Cd and Cd+Cu+Zn treatment groups, the compositions of root exudates apparently increased, with alkanes as the major species (> 88%).

Total suspended particle (TSP) samples were collected during a marine cruise in the East China Sea from May 18 to June 12, 2014. They were analyzed for solvent extractable organic compounds (lipid compounds, PAHs and phthalates) using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to better understand the sources and source apportionment of aerosol pollution in the western North Pacific. Higher concentrations were observed in the terrestrially influenced aerosol samples on the basis of five-day backward air mass trajectories, especially for aerosols collected near coastal areas. Phthalates were found to be the dominant species among these measured compound classes (707±401ngm−3 for daytime and 313±155ngm−3 for nighttime), followed by fatty acids, fatty alcohols, n-alkanes and PAHs. In general, the daytime abundances for these compounds are higher than nighttime, possibly attributable to more intensive anthropogenic activities during the daytime. The factor analysis indicates that biomass burning, fungal activities and fossil fuel combustion maybe the main emission sources for organic aerosols over the East China Sea. This study demonstrates that the East Asian continent can be a natural emitter of biogenic and anthropogenic organics to the marine atmosphere through long-range transport, which controls the chemical composition and concentration of organic aerosols over the East China Sea.

Biochar is widely used in agricultural soils or heavy metal-polluted soils to improve the quality of the soils, which would affect the growth of the plant. However, the information of biochars’ effect on the plant growth was still lacking, especially for the physiological response of the plant. Pot experiments were used to examine the effect of willow-derived biochars at two temperatures (450 and 600 °C) on cadmium (Cd) accumulation in pepper and to reveal the response of physiological parameters to exogenous Cd stress (1 and 5 mg/kg). The results showed that the accumulation of Cd in pepper roots was higher than that in pepper shoots. For low level of Cd treatments, high additional rates of the biochars could obviously reduce the accumulation of Cd in the pepper roots. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between the C content of the biochar-amended soils and the Cd content of the pepper root, suggesting that the application of biochar to the soil decreased the Cd accumulation in the root. A positive relationship between the H/C ratios of biochar-amended soils and their corresponding Cd concentrations in pepper root indicated that low thermal temperature-derived biochar could play an important role in immobilizing Cd in the soil. Furthermore, on the condition of low Cd level of treatments, the malondialdehyde content decreased in biochar-amended soils, especially at high biochar application rate. The chlorophyll content increased with increasing the rates of the biochar application. The physiological parameters indirectly proved that the application of biochar did not always alleviate the toxic effects of Cd on pepper leaves at high Cd concentration.

为探讨北京东郊(通州平原)城市污灌区土壤重金属的垂直分布特征,在综合考察、采样、分析多个土体剖面后,对其中一个典型剖面的数据结合相关研究和历史资料进行系统分析.结果表明,污灌区土壤剖面的中下部积聚多种重金属元素,其含量及分布特征与土壤的发育特征密切相关,且多超出全球同类母质土壤中对应元素的平均值;该剖面的土壤从3750 a B.P.发育至今,由于环境变化形成了由古土壤腐殖质层与砂质壤土层交替出现的多层级体系.土壤发育时期的沉积积累并不是产生重金属垂直分布的原因,而其独特的土体剖面构型与建成于20世纪50年代密集无防渗措施的污灌土渠的耦合作用应当是产生这一结果的主要原因.

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of biochars on the availability of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) to ryegrass in an alkaline contaminated soil. Biochars only slightly decreased or even increased the availability of heavy metals assesses by chemical extractant (a mixture of 0.05 mol ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium, 0.01 mol L-1 CaCl2, and 0.1 mol L-1 triethanolamine). The significantly positive correlation between most chemical-extractable heavy metals and the ash content in biochars indicated the positive role of ash in this extraction. Biochars significantly reduced the plant uptake of heavy metals, excluding Mn. The absence of a positive correlation between the chemical-extractable heavy metals and the plant uptake counterparts (except for Mn) indicates that chemical extractability is probably not a reliable indicator to predict the phytoavailability of most heavy metals in alkaline soils treated with biochars. The obviously negative correlation between the plant uptake of heavy metals (except for Mn) and the (O + N)/C and H/C indicates that biochars with more polar groups, which were produced at lower temperatures, had higher efficiency for reducing the phytoavailability of heavy metals. The significantly negative correlations between the plant uptake of Mn and ryegrass biomass indicated the "dilution effect" caused by the improvement of biomass. These observations will be helpful for designing biochars as soil amendments to reduce the availability of heavy metals to plants in soils, especially in alkaline soils. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Using biofuel plants to remove metal pollutants is a sustainable approach for phytoremediation. Ricinus communis L. (castor bean) is a bioenergy plant that grows rapidly and has a high biomass; it has been proven to be a potential phytoaccumulator of several metals. Pot experiments with single element or co-contaminated soils were conducted to investigate Cd, Cu and Zn accumulation and their interaction in R. communis L. After growing for four months in soils with the addition of Cd (at rates of 1,5,10,20, and 40mg/kg), Cu (at rates of 50, 100, 200, 400, and 600mg/kg), and Zn (at rates of 100,200,400,600, and 800mg/kg) alone or combined, the dry biomass and the concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Zn in the leaves, stems and roots of the castor bean plants were measured, and the translocation and bioaccumulation factors were calculated. It was found that all of the R. communis grew well and produced high biomass, showing a high tolerance to Cd, Cu and Zn. Our experimental results implied that R. communis showed a high phytoremediation potential for soils contaminated by Cd or Zn while displayed a low uptake of Cu. The copper concentration in R. communis was only slightly influenced by Cd and Zn additions to the soils. The interaction pattern of Cd and Zn showed an antagonistic behavior under low concentrations of the Cd and Zn combined treatment while showed a synergistic behavior under high concentrations of the Cd and Zn combined treatment.