An assessment of Agropyron cristatum tolerance to cadmium contaminated soil

A pot experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to assess the tolerance of Agropyron cristatum plants to cadmium contaminated soils (0, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg kg−1) for 100 d. Results indicate that Cd in concentrations of 5–50 mg kg−1 had no significant impact on growth, relative membrane permeability (RMP), lipid peroxidation measured as malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and chlorophyll (Chl) content relative to the control. Exposure of these plants to high concentrations of Cd (100–200 mg kg−1) caused a small reduction in growth and Chl content and a slight enhancement of RMP and MDA content compared with the control. In addition, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities show an increasing trend with the increase of Cd content in soil. The Cd content in the roots was 4.7–6.1 times higher than that in the shoots under all Cd treatments suggesting that the plant can be classified as a Cd excluder. The translocation factor was low and similar at 25–200 mg kg−1 Cd treatments. In summary, A. cristatum plants tolerated Cd stress and might have potential for the phytoremediation of Cd contaminated soils.