Recently, the Heavy Metal Ecotoxicology and Pollution Remediation Innovation Team of Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs found that the management of combining calcium-modified biochar (CBC) and low cadmium (Cd) accumulation maize should be an efficient way to remediate Cd-contaminated soil. This research provides a theoretical basis for the remediation of Cd-contaminated soil and the improvement of the soil ecological environment. The relevant research findings have been published in "Soil & Tillage Research."

Improving alkaline Cd-contaminated soil is of great significance to ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products, and choosing appropriate remediation measures is particularly critical. These results showed that Cd was preferentially enriched on fine particle fractions in soil, and CBC promoted the redistribution of Cd from micro-aggregates to macro-aggregates.

After the addition of CBC, the Cd concentration in grains of two low-Cd corn varieties decreased by 37.55%~50.80% and 23.60%~51.20%, respectively, compared with the control group. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that the microbial community structure and composition changed significantly after the addition of CBC, which was characterized by a significant increase in the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), the alpha diversity indices and the abundance of the dominant phylum. The research results indicates that this technology has high application potential in the safe utilization of Cd-contaminated soil and improving the micro-ecological environment of agricultural soil.

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Contact: sunyuebing@caas.cn