The uptake of Cs and Sr from soil to radish (Raphanus sativus L.)- potential for phytoextraction and remediation of contaminated soils.

Abstract The 133 Cs and 88 Sr uptake by plant Raphanus sativus L. was studied during cultivation in outdoor potted-soil. The distribution, accumulation of 133 Cs, 88 Sr and the antioxidant responses in plants were measured after 30 and 60 days of cultivation. The results showed that the uptake capacity of radish for 88 Sr was far higher than that for 133 Cs when the concentration of 88 Sr was as the same as that of 133 Cs in the soil (The concentration of 88 Sr or 133 Cs in the soil was from 2.5 mg kg −1 to 40 mg kg −1 ). The highest 88 Sr accumulation was 239.18 μg g −1  dw, otherwise, the highest 133 Cs accumulation was 151.74 μg g −1  dw (The concentration of 88 Sr in the soil was 40 mg kg −1 ), and the lowest 88 Sr accumulation was 131.03 μg g −1  dw, otherwise, the lowest 133 Cs accumulation was 12.85 μg g −1  dw (The concentration of 88 Sr in the soil is 5 mg kg −1 ). The 88 Sr and 133 Cs TF values were 1.16–1.72 and 0.24–0.60, respectively. There was little influence of high concentration of 88 Sr on the total biomass of plants, so the radish is one of the ideal phytoremediation plant for Sr polluted soils. The important physiological reasons that radish had good tolerance to 88 Sr stress were that the MDA content was higher under the 88 Sr stress than that under the 133 Cs stress, and the activities of POD and CAT were lower under the 88 Sr stress than that under 133 Cs stress.