The Effect of Chloride on the Availability of Cadmium

Abstract

Abstract Cadmium complexes readily with chloride and sulfate; hence, increases in soil salinity may influence its availability. To evaluate the effect of chlorinity, a major component of soil salinity, the following study was undertaken. A greenhouse experiment was conducted with Swiss chard ( Beta vulgaris Cicla) as the biological indicator of available Cd in soil at pH 4.0 and pH 7.0 and treated with three levels of Cd(NO 3 ) 2 combined with five levels of CaCl 2 . The soil solution was analyzed for cations and anions; these analyses were used as input data to chemically speciate Cd in the soil solution. Under these treatments, the total concentration of Cd in the soil solution, Cd T , was found to exist principally as Cd 2+ and CdCl + . Multiple regression analysis of leaf Cd data in relation to the concentration of Cd T , Cd 2+ , and CdCl + showed leaf Cd to be primarily a function of the Cd 2+ concentration.