Environmental Modelling at Nottingham

Uptake of Cd and Zn by wheat and maize

The uptake of metals by crop plants is very variable depending upon soil conditions and, of course, the crop of interest.

Through a field survey of crops grown at a sewage disposal farm we have developed some simple linear models which related uptake to soil pH and organic matter content for both maize and wheat.

The models are by no means perfect, but they do account for quite a bit of the variation in the data and are readily applicable.

In the paper cited opposite the models were applied to assess the level of crop contamination in relation to appropriate statutory limits.

Hough RL, Young SD, Crout NMJ, Tye AM (2003). Modelling of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn uptake, by Winter Wheat and Forage Maize from a sewage disposal farm. Soil Use and Management, 19:19-27.

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Note: some of our more recent work has suggested that the wheat model above is specific to the site in question, it seems to overpredict by as much as an order of magnitude when applied to 'normal' field situations!