From heavy to healed: Investigating the effects of artificial root exudates on heavy metal removal in barren soil
Presentation Type
Abstract
Faculty Advisor
Nina Goodey
Access Type
Event
Start Date
25-4-2025 10:30 AM
End Date
25-4-2025 11:29 AM
Description
Heavy metal accumulation disrupts microbial activity and soil microbial function. More than 80% of land plants rely on soil microbes to grow and survive. The presence of dormant microbes could lead to disrupting mycorrhizal association, and vegetative land could turn into barren, facilitating food insecurity. This study focused on stimulating microbial activity rather than directly fertilizing plants. This is the reason we opted for artificial root exudates instead of fertilizers. Plant roots release root exudates (sugars, organic acids, amino acids, etc.) that nourish soil microbes, mobilize nutrients and chelate heavy metals. We hypothesized that reactivating soil microbes with artificial root exudates would enhance plant establishment and support phytoremediation. We hypothesized that artificial root exudates would enhance sunflower-mediated heavy metal uptake. We added sunflowers to suck up heavy metals from the soil. We evaluated the effects of seven different combinations of exudates on sunflowers’ ability to remove heavy metals from soil. Heavy metal concentrations (arsenic, iron, chromium, copper, zinc, and lead) were measured using the EPA’s total digestion method on days 0 and 207. Our results indicated that artificial root exudate treatments promoted sunflower-mediated heavy metal removal. We observed that our LDA treatment causes significant decrease in chromium from day 0 (338 ± 45.8 ppm) to day 207 (193.2 ± 7.2 ppm). These findings suggest that artificial root exudates offer a cost-effective approach to support brownfield remediation.
From heavy to healed: Investigating the effects of artificial root exudates on heavy metal removal in barren soil
Heavy metal accumulation disrupts microbial activity and soil microbial function. More than 80% of land plants rely on soil microbes to grow and survive. The presence of dormant microbes could lead to disrupting mycorrhizal association, and vegetative land could turn into barren, facilitating food insecurity. This study focused on stimulating microbial activity rather than directly fertilizing plants. This is the reason we opted for artificial root exudates instead of fertilizers. Plant roots release root exudates (sugars, organic acids, amino acids, etc.) that nourish soil microbes, mobilize nutrients and chelate heavy metals. We hypothesized that reactivating soil microbes with artificial root exudates would enhance plant establishment and support phytoremediation. We hypothesized that artificial root exudates would enhance sunflower-mediated heavy metal uptake. We added sunflowers to suck up heavy metals from the soil. We evaluated the effects of seven different combinations of exudates on sunflowers’ ability to remove heavy metals from soil. Heavy metal concentrations (arsenic, iron, chromium, copper, zinc, and lead) were measured using the EPA’s total digestion method on days 0 and 207. Our results indicated that artificial root exudate treatments promoted sunflower-mediated heavy metal removal. We observed that our LDA treatment causes significant decrease in chromium from day 0 (338 ± 45.8 ppm) to day 207 (193.2 ± 7.2 ppm). These findings suggest that artificial root exudates offer a cost-effective approach to support brownfield remediation.
Comments
Poster presentation at the 2025 Student Research Symposium.