Abstract
Abstract The influence of soil redox potential on the uptake of nickel and cadmium from three soils was studied in a pot experiment with oat ( Avena sativa L. cv. Pirol) and rye‐grass ( Lolium multiflorum L. cv. Lema). The soils used were a Luvisol (naturally low in Ni and Cd), a sewage‐sludge amended Luvisol (anthropogenic enrichment of Ni and Cd) and a Cambisol (naturally high in Ni and Cd). Nickel and Cd supplied in sewage‐sludge amendments were several times more available for plant uptake than those present naturally in the soil. Short term decreases in soil redox potential, as a result of soil flooding, had little effect on the availability of Ni and Cd from sludge amended soils, but resulted in a substantial increase in Ni and Cd availability in the soil naturally high in Ni and Cd. In general, increases in soil solution concentrations of Ni and Cd, due to sludge amendment or changes in soil redox potential, resulted in increased Ni and Cd concentrations in the aerial parts of plants. Nickel concentrations in the grain of oat increased with increasing Ni concentration in the soil solution, whereas grain Cd concentrations did not. In contrast, Cd concentrations in vegetative parts of both oat and rye‐grass were strongly affected by soil type and sludge‐amendment. In all treatments Ni concentrations in the grain were much higher than in the vegetative parts, whereas Cd concentrations were always higher in vegetative parts than in the grain. Tissue Ni concentrations correlated well with DTPA extractable soil Ni but only poorly with total soil Ni. Differences in the availability and uptake of Ni and Cd in response to soil type, environmental conditions and plant species suggest that the use of total soil‐metal content to regulate the use of sewage sludge on agricultural land is inappropriate.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Sludge-derived nickel and cadmium were more available for plant uptake than naturally present metals.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Species”
e0“Nickel and Cd supplied in sewage‐sludge amendments were several times more available for plant uptake than those present naturally in the soil.”
Claim · model-written summary
Flooding-induced redox decreases had little effect on nickel and cadmium availability in sludge-amended soil.
- Taxon
- Plant Speciest0
- Treatment
- soil floodinge0
- Outcome
- availability of Ni and Cde0
- Direction
- little effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
t0“Plant Species”
e0“Short term decreases in soil redox potential, as a result of soil flooding, had little effect on the availability of Ni and Cd from sludge amended soils”
Claim · model-written summary
Flooding-induced redox decreases increased nickel and cadmium availability in naturally metal-rich soil.
Not reportedTreatmentComparator
Verbatim
t0“Plant Species”
e0“resulted in a substantial increase in Ni and Cd availability in the soil naturally high in Ni and Cd.”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher soil-solution nickel and cadmium concentrations were associated with higher concentrations in aerial plant parts.
Verbatim
e0“increases in soil solution concentrations of Ni and Cd, due to sludge amendment or changes in soil redox potential, resulted in increased Ni and Cd concentrations in the aerial parts of plants.”
Claim · model-written summary
Oat grain nickel increased with soil-solution nickel.
- Taxon
- oat
Avena sativae0 - Organ / stage
- graine0
- Outcome
- Nickel concentrations in the graine0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Setting
- soil solutione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“Nickel concentrations in the grain of oat increased with increasing Ni concentration in the soil solution”
Claim · model-written summary
Oat grain cadmium did not follow the reported increase in grain nickel.
Not reportedSetting
Verbatim
t0“Plant Species”
e0“whereas grain Cd concentrations did not.”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil type and sludge amendment strongly affected cadmium in vegetative oat and rye-grass parts.
- Taxon
- oat
Avena sativae0 - Organ / stage
- vegetative partse0
- Treatment
- sludge‐amendmente0
- Outcome
- Cd concentrationse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“Cd concentrations in vegetative parts of both oat and rye‐grass were strongly affected by soil type and sludge‐amendment.”
Claim · model-written summary
Grain nickel concentrations exceeded vegetative-part concentrations in every treatment.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Species”
e0“In all treatments Ni concentrations in the grain were much higher than in the vegetative parts”
Claim · model-written summary
Vegetative-part cadmium concentrations exceeded grain concentrations in every treatment.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Species”
e0“Cd concentrations were always higher in vegetative parts than in the grain.”
Claim · model-written summary
Tissue nickel correlated well with extractable soil nickel but poorly with total soil nickel.
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
t0“Plant Species”
e0“Tissue Ni concentrations correlated well with DTPA extractable soil Ni but only poorly with total soil Ni.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors consider total soil-metal content inappropriate for regulating agricultural sludge use.
Verbatim
t0“Plant Species”
e0“the use of total soil‐metal content to regulate the use of sewage sludge on agricultural land is inappropriate.”
The same questions in other papers
flooding · nutrient: content · Avena sativa (oats)Results agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- negative
- negative
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.