Physiological Responses and Phytoextraction Potential of Pinus thunbergii on Cd-contaminated Soil

We investigated physiological responses and phytoextraction ability of Pinus thunbergii in cadmium contaminated soil as part of our efforts in identifying plant materials for the restoration and revegetation of forest soil contaminated by heavy metals. Thirty seedlings (ten per treatment) were assigned to three treatments (control, 0.3 and 0.6 mM CdSO₄ solution) at first year experiment. At second year, ten seedlings per treatment treated with Cd during the first year experiment were divided by two groups (no Cd-treated and consecutive Cd-treated group). At first experiment, photosynthetic pigment content, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities have significantly reduced by Cd application, and the reduction rate was increased much higher as the rate of Cd application increased. On the other hand, thiol and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were significantly increased at the application of 0.6 mM of Cd. At the second year experiment, a general increase in chlorophyll and carotenoid content was observed with Cd treatment while SOD and GR activities showed a relative reduction compared to the control. Similar to the first year measurement, thiol and MDA contents also increased considerably due to Cd treatment. At harvest, dry matter was significantly reduced by Cd treatment especially at the rate of 0.6 mM Cd, but dry yield of P. thunbergii treated with 0.3 mM Cd was less affected and it was comparable with the control seedling. Cadmium concentration in seedling tissues increased with increasing Cd application rate while Cd uptake was higher in seedlings supplied with 0.3 mM Cd, which could be ascribed to their high dry matter. Overall, our study has demonstrated the unique physiological response of P. thunbergii to Cd-prolonged exposure by showing that the changes in photosynthetic pigment content and antioxidative enzyme activities were dependent on the concentration and duration of treatment. In addition, our results have demonstrated the potential of P. thunbergii to withstand up to 0.3 mM Cd (equivalent to cumulative Cd concentration of 134.4 to 268 mg kg-¹) without showing growth reduction, hence it might be used for phytoremediation of Cd contaminated areas.