Physiological responses and metal uptake of Miscanthus under cadmium/arsenic stress

The aim of this study is to explore the impact of cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) stress on physiological indexes and Cd/As uptake ability of Miscanthus, including Miscanthus sacchariflorus A0104, Miscanthus sinensis C0424 and C0640. Cd and As concentration showed significant hormesis effects on some physiological indexes, such as chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, and MDA content. Compared with control group, Cd uptake can be most greatly enhanced by above fourfold with 150 mg/kg Cd treatment. As uptake of A0104 was increased by 3 ~ 33 folds with 200 mg/kg As treatment, C0424 was increased by 7–12 folds with 100 mg/kg As treatment, while C0640 was increased 1 ~ 6 folds with 250 mg/kg As treatment. The results also showed that C0640 was relatively better for the Cd remediation in the high Cd concentration (150 mg/kg) contaminated soil, while A0104 and C0424 were relatively better for the As remediation in the high As concentration (100 ~ 200 mg/kg) contaminated soil. Additionally, significantly (p < 0.05) close correlations were found among physiological indexes (except MDA content), while physiological indexes showed no significant relationship with the heavy metal contents in root, stem, and leaf.