Accumulation and Transfer of Cadmium Isotope (Cd) by Sonchus asper Intercropped with Vicia faba and Implications for Phytoremediation.

Accumulation and transfer of Cd by Sonchus asper intercropped with a legume crop, Vicia faba were determined via Cd as a tracer to assess the potential of Sonchus asper as a hyperaccumulator. In this study, Sonchus asper and Vicia faba were planted side by side in soils amended with arbuscular mycorrhizae, and Cd was applied to either Sonchus asper or Vicia faba planted soils while the neighboring plant received Cd across a nylon net impermeable to the roots. Mean concentration of Cd in the shoot of Sonchus asper was 7.0 times higher than Vicia faba. The translocation factor of Cd in Sonchus asper were 39 and 400 times higher than in Vicia faba under the Cd direct and indirect treatments, respectively. The results suggested that the intercropping of Sonchus asper as a hyperaccumulator with Vicia faba, might be a feasible approach for phytoremediation of Cd contaminated soil.