Cd absorption characteristics of Suaeda salsa under different sediment burial and exogenous Cd input conditions in the Yellow River estuary, China

Suaeda salsa (L.) Pall., a typical halophyte plant in the Yellow River estuary, has high enrichment capacity for heavy metals. However, few studies have investigated the Cd absorption characteristics of S. salsa under different sediment burial and exogenous Cd input conditions, especially following the water-sediment regulation scheme (WSRS), which brought sediment burial and exogenous substances to the estuary. So, we established a greenhouse pot culture experiment with four sediment burial depths (0 cm, 3 cm, 6 cm, and 12 cm) and exogenous Cd input levels (0 mg·kg⁻¹, 0.5 mg·kg⁻¹, 1.0 mg·kg⁻¹, and 1.5 mg·kg⁻¹) and analyzed the leaf, stem, root, and total biomass; leaf, stem, and root Cd content; and storage, sediment Cd content, accumulation factor, root/leaf (R/L), root/stem (R/S), and stem/leaf (S/L) ratios to study the Cd absorption characteristics of S. salsa under the different sediment burial and exogenous Cd input. Results showed that high Cd content in roots, stems, and leaves was harmful to S. salsa growth, and then led to a decrease in biomass (characterized by stem, leaf, and total biomass). Suaeda salsa exhibited a survival strategy to deal with Cd toxicity, which involved the roots absorbing Cd from the sediment and storing it in stems and leaves (stem and leaf Cd content peaked at 0.5 mg·kg⁻¹ Cd input) at low Cd input, whereas roots stored more Cd and reduced Cd transport to stems and leaves at high Cd input. Therefore, we observed the maximum value of leaf (500.63 ± 19.15 g·m⁻²), stem (648.22 ± 50.08 g·m⁻²), and total biomass (1246.92 ± 55.49 g·m⁻²) in the treatment with 1.5 mg·kg⁻¹ Cd input and 3-cm sediment depth due to the Cd content in leaves and stems being relatively low. The accumulation factors of leaves, stems, and roots varied (0.39–0.99, 0.19–2.58, and 0.80–20.45, respectively), and most of the accumulation factors for roots and leaves and the R/L and R/S ratios were >1, which indicated that S. salsa had high enrichment levels of Cd, which mostly accumulated in the roots. Shallow or moderate burial depth was beneficial to S. salsa growth, but sediment burial was not beneficial to Cd absorption because the sum of leaf, stem, and root Cd storage was higher at 0-cm depth compared with the other depths. Variance analysis showed that the influence of Cd input on leaf, stem, root, and sediment Cd content and stem and root Cd storage was significant (P < 0.05), whereas sediment burial, interaction of sediment burial and Cd input on Cd content, storage, and biomass were not significant (P > 0.05). Therefore, we concluded that more attention should be paid to the control of sediment burial and heavy metal input, especially during the WSRS, in the Yellow River estuary.