Affiliations: Key Open Laboratory of Ecological Processes, Institute
of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China | Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Shenyang
University, Shengyang 110044, China | Analytical Services Inc.,3909 Halls Ferry Road,
Vicksburg 39180, USA
Abstract: Seedling emergence tests were conducted in a meadow brown soil using
five plant species (i. e., Chinese cabbage, green onion, tomato, turnip and
wheat) to determine the phytotoxicity of phenanthrene, pyrene and their
mixtures. The soil was amended with up to 1000 mg/kg soil of phenanthrene or
600 mg/kg soil of pyrene. Seedling emergence and root growth were measured. The
results indicated that root elongation was more sensitive than seedling
emergence. Root length decreased with increasing phenanthrene or pyrene
concentrations (p ⩽ 0.05). Phenanthrene was more phytotoxic than
pyrene. The lowest observable adverse effect concentration (LOAEC) was 10 mg/kg
for phenanthrene when tested with green onion, and 50 mg/kg for pyrene when
tested with wheat. Among the five species,wheat was found to be the most
sensitive. When amended jointly at or below their respective LOAEC,
phenanthrene and pyrene produced a synergistic toxic effect.
