Project number: 22-36079S (42400/1411/4143)
Project title: Decipher the specific cadmium biogeochemical cycling in the soil-plant continuum: insights from Cd isotopes
Grant provider: GAČR
Program: Standard
Project coordinator: ČZU
Project leader: prof. RNDr. Vladislav Chrastný, Ph.D.
Contact person: Ing. Hana Jenšíková
Project schedule: 2022-2024
Total budget: CZK 6 498 000,-
Abstract:
The most important inputs of Cd in the surface environment are related to anthropogenic activities (mining, smelting, agriculture, industry). This leads to Cd contamination in soils and subsequent increases its uptake by plants. The environmental geochemistry of Cd at the soilplant interface is thus of high interest with respect to the understanding of Earth’s global Cd cycle. Significant mass-dependent fractionation of Cd isotopes can occur during various biogeochemical processes (e.g. evaporation, precipitation, adsorption and biological activity) allowing the use of Cd isotopes for tracing biogeochemical processes. Moreover, synchrotron techniques have become key components for studying the mechanisms involved in metal uptake and metabolism in plants through the µ-imaging of the elemental distribution, as well as XAS allowing the determination of the Cd chemical forms. We propose an innovative approach allowing deciphering and tracing the Cd behavior in the soil-plant system using a combination of Cd isotope analyses with the Cd speciation determined by synchrotron techniques.