Absorption and accumulation of cadmium by ramie (Boehmeria nivea) cultivars: A field study

Abstract

Ramie is a fibre crop originating from China that has great ability to tolerate and accumulate heavy metals. This study has analysed the capacity of ramie cultivars to absorb and accumulate cadmium (Cd) through two years of micro-regional field study and shown that stress under high concentration of Cd significantly affects the biomass of ramie; 25 mg kg^?1 Cd treatment promotes the growth and development of ramie cultivars B. nivea 1 and 9. The Cd contents retained in different parts of ramie are ranked as the following: bast > stems > leaves. Cd concentrations in shoot systems among different ramie cultivars are significantly different and increase dramatically in association with the increasing Cd concentration in the soil. Ramie has the ability to accumulate large amounts of Cd; under the treatment with 25 and 100 mg kg^?1 of Cd, three times of ramie harvest annually remove 0.76 and 0.97 kg hm^?2 a^?1 of Cd respectively. The results from this study demonstrate the feasibility of phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated farmland by ramie cultivars that have obtained Cd accumulating capacity through screening and training.