simultaneous uptake and accumulation of sodium and cadmium or lead by three halophyte plants in two calcareous soils

abstract nowadays, environmental pollution by heavy metals is one of the most serious threats of the world which needs effective remediation actions. the aim of this study was to investigate the potential use of atriplex [atriplex verucifera], salicornia [salicornia europaea] and chenopodium album in simultaneous uptake and accumulation of na and cd or pb in two calcareous soils with different properties. two soils, including a saline-sodic-calcareous (s1) and a calcareous (s2) soil, were selected. different concentrations of pb (0, 250, 500 and 1000 mg pb kg-1 soil) and cd (0, 10, 30 and 100 mg cd kg-1) were then added to the soils. . the contaminated soils were incubated under a wetting-drying moisture regime for nearly seven months. the plants seeds were grown in pots containing different treatments of polluted soils and in control treatment (no cd and pb contaminations). the plant yields and concentrations of pb, cd and na in the soil and plant samples were measured. results showed that relative yield of salicornia was more in soil s1, whereas those of atriplex and chenopodium album were more in soil s2. in saline- sodic soil, the values of na bioconcentration factor (bcena) in control treatment were 67, 202 and 57 for atriplex, salicornia and chenopodium album respectively. the high value of bcena in salicornia revealed the ability of this plant in absorption and accumulation of na from soil. a considerable accumulation of soil cd by salicornia and pb accumulation by atriplex and salicornia was observed under unsuitable conditions of the saline-sodic soil, whereas, atriplex and chenopodium had high capability for cd in the soil s2. these results revealed that these plants could be used for remediation of pb and cd contaminated soils. in this study, salicornia with lower rate of yield reduction had the highest tolerance to cd-stress and it seems that one can use this plant for phytiremediation of cd and pb from saline- sodic soil even in high concentrations of cd and pb.