Predicting the translocation of organic contaminants to plants is crucial to ensure the quality of agricultural goods and assess the risk of human exposure through the food web. In this study, the performance of a modified plant uptake model was evaluated considering a number of chemicals, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), with a range of physicochemical properties; different plant species (Ipomoea aquatica Forsk (swamp morning glory), Chrysanthemum coronarium L. (crown daisy), Zea mays L. (corn), Brassica rapa pekinensis (Chinese cabbage), Cucurbita moschata (pumpkin), Raphanus sativus L. (radish), Spinacia oleracea L. (spinach) and Capsicum annuum L. (pepper)); and different types of soil (paddy soil, laterite soil and black soil). The biases of predictions from a previously used partition-limited model were −76.4% to −99.9% relative to the measured concentrations. An overall transmission factor (αtf=0.39), calculated from a linear regression of the measured bioavailable fraction (Cbᵢₒ) and the total concentration in plants, was considered a crucial modification and was included in the modified model. Cbᵢₒ was found to better represent the chemical content available in soil for root uptake. The results from this study improve the accuracy of predictions for vegetation-uptake assessments by modifying the partition-limited model and then validating the modified model using comparisons between predicted data and measured values. The accuracy of the concentrations of organic contaminants in plants improved: when using the modified model, 89.5% of the predictions were within 40% of the actual value. The average bias was limited to 1.5%–30.5%. The model showed great potential to predict plant uptake using the bioavailable fraction concentration in soil.

Shortly after an atmospheric release, the interception of radionuclides by crop canopies represents the main uptake pathway leading to food chain contamination. The food chain models currently used in European emergency decision support systems require a large number of input parameters, which inevitably leads to high model complexity. In this study, we have established a new relationship for wet deposited radionuclides to simplify the current modelling approaches. This relationship is based on the hypothesis that the stage of plant development is the key factor governing the interception of radionuclides by crops having horizontally oriented leaves (planophile crops). The interception fraction (f) and the leaf area index normalized (fLAI) and mass normalized (fB) interception fractions were assessed for spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and radish (Raphanus sativus) at different stages of plant development and for different contamination treatments and plant densities. A database of 191 f values for Cs-137 and Th-229 was built and complemented with existing literature covering various radionuclides and crops with similar canopy structure. The overall f increased with the plant growth, while the reverse was observed for fB. The fLAI significantly decreased by doubling the contaminated rainfall deposited. Fitting a multiple linear regression to predict the f value as a function of the standing biomass (B), and the radionuclide form (anion and cation) led to a better estimation of the interception (R² = 81%) than the ECOSYS-87 model (R² = 35%). Hence, the simplified modelling approach here proposed seems to be a suitable risk assessment tool as fewer parameters will minimize the model complexity and facilitate the decision-making procedures in case of emergencies, when countermeasures need to be identified and implemented promptly.

To further assess the human being's exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through the dietary pathway, understanding the partitioning of these chemicals co-existed with nanomaterials in edible vegetable systems deserves specific consideration. In this study, the fiber-optic fluorimetry was applied to in situ examine the effects of graphene (GNS) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets on the quantification and depuration of three-ringed phenanthrene (Phe) and four-ringed fluoranthene (Fla) adsorbed individually onto the living spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) surfaces. When the GNS and GO dosages separately increased to the maximum values: a respective red-shift of 4–5 nm and blue-shift of 2–3 nm occurred for the optimal detection emission wavelengths (λem) of the two PAHs, indicating that individual GNS and GO resulted in different changes to the epicuticular wax (ECW) polarity; GNS-inducing fluorescence quenching for the PAHs was about two times greater than GO, owing to the stronger π-π interactions between PAH molecules and GNS relative to GO; the volatilization coefficients (kC1) were reduced by 31.1% versus 26.7% for Phe, and 51.6% versus 34.4% for Fla, mainly via providing an additional adsorbent and promoting the accessibility of the leaf cuticle; respective photolysis coefficients (kP2) of Phe and Fla decreased by 42.9% and 50.0% with GNS, primarily owing to the enhancement of the ECW light-adsorption capacity, but increased by 33.3% and 40.0% with GO due to its photocatalytic activities; overall, total depuration coefficients (kT1, kT2) of the two PAHs decreased by 11.1–55.6%. These findings demonstrate that GNS and GO significantly alter the depuration behavior of PAHs in vegetable systems, potentially posing a threat to the safety of edible vegetables.

The usage of inadequately processed industrial waste water (WW) can lead to strong soil alkalinity and soil salinization of agricultural fields with negative consequences on soil properties and biota. Gypsum as a soil amendment to saline-sodic soils is widely used in agricultural fields to improve their soil physical, chemical and hence biological properties. This study aimed at analysing the effects of intensive WW irrigation on the structure and composition of soil-dwelling arthropods on spinach fields (Spinacia oleracea L.) in a West African urban vegetable production system. We used gypsum as a soil amendment with the potential to alleviate soil chemical stress resulting in a potentially positive impact on soil arthropods. A total of 32 plots were established that showed a gradient in soil pH ranging from slight to strong soil alkalinity and that were irrigated with WW (n = 12) or clean water (CW; n = 20), including eight plots into which gypsum was incorporated. Our study revealed a high tolerance of soil-dwelling arthropods for alkaline soils, but spinach fields with increased soil electrical conductivity (EC) showed a reduced abundance of Hymenoptera, Diptera and Auchenorrhyncha. Arthropod abundance was positively related to a dense spinach cover that in turn was not affected by WW irrigation or soil properties. Gypsum application reduced soil pH but increased soil EC. WW irrigation and related soil pH affected arthropod composition in the investigated spinach fields which may lead to negative effects on agronomical important arthropod groups such as pollinators and predators.

The contamination of toxic heavy metals (i.e., Cd, Cr, Pb, and Ni) and metalloid (i.e., As) (TMMs) is considered as a major cause of increasing incidences of human and livestock cancers, gastrointestinal disorders and neurological problems. The levels of these TMMS in soil, irrigation water, and plants like Salanum lycopersicum (tomato), Spinacia oleracea (Spinach), and Triticum aestivum (Wheat) samples were detected which were collected from various localities across 100 km around the city of Lucknow, India. This study reported that the concentration of TMMs was within the range of maximum allowable concentration (MAC) (FAO/WHO, 2011) in most of the agricultural soil, whereas, it was higher in irrigation water. The TMMs levels in the edible parts of vegetables and cereal were in the range 1.91–53.94 μg/g, 5.06–40.49 μg/g, 4.08-2312-29 μg/g, 0.43–51.48 μg/g, and 0.01–1.65 μg/g, respectively which was significantly higher than the MAC. The BAF of Cd and Ni was very high in the edible parts of the vegetables and cereal samples indicating an entry of TMMs in food chain through the metal-contaminated irrigation water, even if TMMs are low in the field soil. The contamination coefficient (Cfi) and Ecological risk factors (Efi) of the TMMs were detected in the range of low risk in all agricultural soil. The Ecological risk index (ERI) of TMMs was at moderate risk, indicating a mild impact of the metal toxicity in the agro-ecosystems but the high risk on the consumers. The daily intake (DI) of TMMs through vegetables and cereal was below the maximum allowable daily intake (MTDI) but the carcinogenic risk factor (CRs) potential of Cr, Cd, Ni, and As was observed significantly higher for these vegetables and cereal, which indicated a complex scenario of a far-future carcinogenic health hazard on consumers in densely populated city of Lucknow, India and its surrounding regions.

Irrigation of crop plants with microcystins (MCs) contaminated water could be a threat to human health via bioaccumulation. Despite the fact MCs bioaccumulation in crop plants is well documented, MCs depuration, as well as the mechanism involved remains unclear. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the bioaccumulation and depuration of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), as well as to explore the role of glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis in MC-LR depuration. The tested plants were irrigated with deionized water containing 10 μg L⁻¹ MC-LR for 12 days (bioaccumulation), and subsequently, with either deionized water only or deionized water containing 0.5 mM buthionine sulfoximine (BSO, a specific inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis) for 12 days (depuration). After bioaccumulation period, highest concentrations of MC-LR found in lettuce and spinach were 114.4 and 138.5 μg kg⁻¹ dry weight (DW) respectively. Depuration rates of MC-LR in lettuce and spinach were 9.5 and 8.1 μg kg⁻¹ DW d⁻¹, which deceased to 3.7 and 4.6 μg kg⁻¹ DW d⁻¹ in treatments with BSO application. GSH content in both lettuce and spinach were not significantly affected during depuration without BSO; whereas after treatment with BSO, GSH content significantly decreased by 36.0% and 24.7% in lettuce and spinach on 15 d, and the decrease remained on 18 d and 21 d in lettuce. Moreover, during the bioaccumulation period, activities of glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were enhanced in both plants. Our results suggested that GSH biosynthesis played an important role in MC-LR depuration in the tested plants. Concerning human health risk, most of the estimated daily intake (EDI) values during the bioaccumulation period exceeded the tolerable daily intake (TDI) guideline. However, the risk could be alleviated by irrigating with MCs-free water for a certain amount of time before harvest.

The mechanism of enhanced accumulation of organic contaminants in crops with engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) were investigated by co-exposure of crops (Ipomoea aquatica Forsk (Swamp morning-glory), Cucumis sativus L. (cucumber), Zea mays L. (corn), Spinacia oleracea L. (spinach) and Cucurbita moschata (pumpkin))to a range of chemicals (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)) and ENMs (TiO2, Ag, Al2O3, graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs)) in soil. Induced by 50 mg kg−1 graphene co-exposure, the increase range of BDE-209, BaP, p,p′-DDE, HCB, PYR, FLU, ANT, and PHEN in the plants were increased in the range of 7.51–36.42, 5.69–32.77, 7.09–59.43, 11.61–66.73, 4.58–57.71, 5.79–109.07, 12.85–109.76, and15.57–127.75 ng g−1, respectively. The contaminants in ENMs-spiked and control soils were separated into bioavailable, bound and residual fractions using a sequential ultrasonic extraction procedure (SUEP) to investigate the mechanism of the enhanced accumulation. The bioavailable fraction in spiked soils showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) from that in the control, while the bound fraction increased in equal proportion (p > 0.05) to the reduction in the residual fraction. These results implied that ENMs can competitively adsorbed the bound of organic contaminants from soil and co-transferred into crops, followed by a portion of the residual fraction transferred to the bound fraction to maintain the balance of different fractions in soils. The mass balance was all higher than 98.5%, indicating the portion of degraded contaminants was less than 1.5%. These findings could expand our knowledge about the organic contaminants accumulation enhancement in crops with ENMs.

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential trace element that accumulates in agricultural soils through the application of Cd-rich phosphate fertiliser. Vegetables can accumulate Cd to concentrations that sometimes exceed food safety standards. We investigated the potential of low-cost soil amendments to reduce Cd uptake by spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and onion (Allium cepa L.). Batch sorption experiments revealed the relative sorption of Cd by biosolids, charcoal, lignite, sawdust, two types of compost, bentonite and zeolite. Lignite and compost had the greatest ability to sorb Cd and were subsequently selected for pot trials, which elucidated their effect on Cd uptake by onions, spinach and lettuce in two market garden soils with native Cd concentrations of 1.45 mg/kg and 0.47 mg/kg. The addition of 2.5% (dry w/w) municipal compost reduced the Cd concentration in onions, spinach and lettuce by up to 60% in both soils. The addition of lignite gave variable results, which depended on the soil type and rate of addition. This Cd immobilisation was offset by soil acidification caused by the lignite. The results indicate that municipal compost is a low-cost soil conditioner that is effective in reducing plant Cd uptake.

Although urban horticulture provides multiple benefits to society, the extent to which these vegetables are contaminated by the absorption of chemical elements derived from atmospheric deposition is unclear. This study was designed to evaluate the influence of air pollution on leafy vegetables in community gardens of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Vegetable seedlings of Brassica oleracea var. acephala (collard greens) and Spinacia oleracea (spinach) obtained in a non-polluted rural area and growing in vessels containing standard uncontaminated soil were exposed for three consecutive periods of 30, 60 and 90 days in 10 community gardens in Sao Paulo and in one control site. The concentrations of 17 chemical elements (traffic-related elements and those essential to plant biology) were quantified by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Tillandsia usneoides L. specimens were used as air plant biomonitors. The concentrations of As, Cd, Cr and Pb found in vegetables were compared to the recommended values for consumption. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to cluster the elemental concentrations, and Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were employed to evaluate the association of the factor scores from each PCA component with variables such as local weather, traffic burden and vertical barriers adjacent to the gardens. We found significant differences in the elemental concentrations of the vegetables in the different community gardens. These differences were related to the overall traffic burden, vertical obstacles and local weather. The Pb and Cd concentrations in both vegetables exceeded the limit values for consumption after 60 days of exposure. A strong correlation was observed between the concentration of traffic-related elements in vegetables and in Tillandsia usneoides L. An exposure response was observed between traffic burden and traffic-derived particles absorbed in the vegetables. Traffic-derived air pollution directly influences the absorption of chemical elements in leafy vegetables, and the levels of these elements may exceed the recommended values for consumption.