A pilot study on using biochars as sustainable amendments to inhibit rice uptake of Hg from a historically polluted soil in a Karst region of China.

We studied the addition of two biochars (rice shell biochar (RSB) and wheat straw biochar (WSB)) to soil at doses of 24-72 t/ha on the dynamics of pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), sulfate, Fe(III), and Fe(II), as well as on mercury (Hg) mobility in the pore water of a polluted paddy soil, throughout the rice-growing season. The effect of biochar addition to soil on rice biomass and Hg accumulation was also investigated. The key results showed that the addition of RSB or WSB to soil improved significantly the biomass of aboveground tissues of rice plants, particularly at higher dose treatments, compared with the control. The RSB treatment noticeably decreased Hg concentration in the pore water compared to the control, throughout the rice-growing season, and this decrease was likely due to the decreased Hg mobility by the RSB by promoting the level of sulfate in the pore water, which might be reduced to sulfide to combine with Hg to form Hg sulfides. The extent of Hg concentration reduction in the pore water was less pronounced in the WSB treatments relative to the RSB treatments. Addition of RSB to soil at doses of 24-72 t/ha decreased significantly Hg contents in the stalk, bran, hull and polish rice of rice plants compared to the non-treated rice (control), particularly Hg content in the polished rice was below the Chinese safety level (< 20 ng g-1, GB2762-2012). The WSB treatments showed limited effects on rice tissues Hg. Biochar (RSB) may offer a promising method for managing the risk of Hg in paddy field by inhibiting rice Hg uptake.