Cadmium Effects on Mineral Accumulation and Selected Physiological and Biochemical Characters of Salix babylonica L.

To understand the phytoremediation capability of Cd by Salix babylonica L. we studied Cd accumulation and translocation, antioxidant enzyme activities, lipid peroxidation, and soluble protein contents in S. babylonica exposed to 10, 50, and 100 mu M Cd for 7, 14, 21, and 28 d. The results indicated that seedling growth was accelerated by 10 mu M Cd, and significantly inhibited by 50 and 100 mu M Cd. The contents of Fe and Mn decreased significantly. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in roots exposed to Cd was significantly higher than that in leaves. The level of peroxidase (POD) was significantly higher than that of control except for the roots treated with 10 and 50 mu M Cd on day 28. POD activity in leaves was lower than that in roots. The level of catalase (CAT) was significantly lower than that of control. At 100 mu M Cd, malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased significantly during the whole experiment. 50 mu M Cd could induce high content of MDA in leaves. In general, the contents of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide anion (O-2.-), and soluble protein showed an increasing trend. S. babylonica could be an efficient phytoextraction plant as it had considerable ability to accumulate Cd.