Predicting the availability of toxic trace elements in field crops: performance study, and development for new DGT approaches to predict As, Cd and Pb transfer from soils to plants

Abstract

Work Package 1. Prediction of As, Cd and Pb availability & toxicity to Brazilian & NI field crops_ Findings from this initial project will provide information on the frequency and extent of As, Cd and Pb contamination in key field crops in the main cultivated areal in Northern Ireland and San Paulo State. Further, the soil-crop transfer models developed will provide an understanding of which crops and soil types pose the greatest safety risks. Work Package 2. Development of non-destructive methods for the analysis of DGT by XRF. This will involve the development of bespoke DGT samplers for XRF measurement the comparison of three XRF based approaches for DGT analysis and the application of XRF DGT to measure metal fluxes in short time scales, relevant to rhizophere root processes. Work Package 3. Speciation of arsenic in soil porewaters using immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Amberlite IRA 910 resin in agarose gel as a binding agent in the diffusive gradient in thin films. (AU)