EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTALLY RELEVANT LEVELS OF CADMIUM PRIMARILY IMPACTS TRANSPIRATION IN FIELD-GROWN SOYBEAN

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal released into agricultural settings primarily due to human activities. Cadmium is readily taken up by plants from the soil and has been shown to result in numerous changes to plant growth and physiology. In this study we examined the physiological effect of environmentally relevant levels of cadmium on field-grown soybean (Glycine max). No significant differences in carbon dioxide (CO₂) assimilation response to leaf internal CO₂ concentration, chlorophyll fluorescence, or growth parameters were observed. However, we did observe an increase in sap flow, a real-time measure of transpiration. Consistent with increased sap flow there was a significant increase in total daily sap flow and peak sap flow between the control and cadmium-treated plants. Our results suggest that treatment with environmentally relevant levels of cadmium primarily impacts transpiration.