Diffusive gradient in thin-film (DGT) models Cd and Pb uptake by plants growing on soils amended with sewage sludge and urban compost

Food contamination by Cd and Pb is of increasing concern because contaminated composts and sewage sludges are used as soil fertilizers. Indeed, Cd and Pb from sewage sludge and compost can be transferred to plants and, in turn, to food. Predicting the quantity of metals transferred to plants is difficult and actual models are unable to give accurate concentrations. Therefore, new techniques are needed. For instance, diffusive gradient in thin-film (DGT) is commonly used to measure metal bioavailability in waters, sediments and soils, but DGT has not been well studied for metal uptake in plants. Moreover, actual models for soil–plant transfer are too complex and require many soil parameters. Here, we simplified the modelization of metal uptake by plants by considering only DGT fluxes and roots surfaces. We grew durum wheat in a greenhouse on sandy soils amended with urban compost or sewage sludge. Results show that Cd uptake was slightly underestimated when whole roots were considered as an absorbing surface. For Pb, the best estimation was found by using root tip surface. Overall, our model ranks correctly the samples but underestimates Pb uptake by 15 % and Cd uptake by 45 %. It is nonetheless a simpler way of modelling by using only DGT fluxes and root system morphology.