TY - JOUR

T1 - Compost amendment in urban gardens

T2 - elemental and isotopic analysis of soils and vegetable tissues

AU - Trimmel, Simone

AU - Wagner, Stefan

AU - Feiner, Laura

AU - Feiner, Maria

AU - Haluza, Daniela

AU - Hood-Nowotny, Rebecca

AU - Pitha, Ulrike

AU - Prohaska, Thomas

AU - Puschenreiter, Markus

AU - Spörl, Philipp

AU - Watzinger, Andrea

AU - Ziss, Elisabeth

AU - Irrgeher, Johanna

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

PY - 2024/7/10

Y1 - 2024/7/10

N2 - Urban horticulture poses a sustainable form of food production, fosters community engagement and mitigates the impacts of climate change on cities. Yet, it can also be tied to health challenges related to soil contamination. This work builds on a previous study conducted on eleven urban gardens in the city of Vienna, Austria. Following the findings of elevated Pb levels in some soil and plant samples within that project, the present study investigates the elemental composition of soil and plants from two affected gardens 1 year after compost amendment. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis of skin, pulp and seeds of tomato fruits revealed minor variations in elemental composition which are unlikely to have an impact on food safety. In turn, a tendency of contaminant accumulation in root tips and leaves of radishes was found. Washing of lettuce led to a significant reduction in the contents of potentially toxic elements such as Be, Al, V, Ni, Ga and Tl, underscoring the significance of washing garden products before consumption. Furthermore, compost amendments led to promising results, with reduced Zn, Cd and Pb levels in radish bulbs. Pb isotope ratios in soil and spinach leaf samples taken in the previous study were assessed by multi-collector (MC-) ICP-MS to trace Pb uptake from soils into food. A direct linkage between the Pb isotopic signatures in soil and those in spinach leaves was observed, underscoring their effectiveness as tracers of Pb sources in the environment. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)

AB - Urban horticulture poses a sustainable form of food production, fosters community engagement and mitigates the impacts of climate change on cities. Yet, it can also be tied to health challenges related to soil contamination. This work builds on a previous study conducted on eleven urban gardens in the city of Vienna, Austria. Following the findings of elevated Pb levels in some soil and plant samples within that project, the present study investigates the elemental composition of soil and plants from two affected gardens 1 year after compost amendment. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis of skin, pulp and seeds of tomato fruits revealed minor variations in elemental composition which are unlikely to have an impact on food safety. In turn, a tendency of contaminant accumulation in root tips and leaves of radishes was found. Washing of lettuce led to a significant reduction in the contents of potentially toxic elements such as Be, Al, V, Ni, Ga and Tl, underscoring the significance of washing garden products before consumption. Furthermore, compost amendments led to promising results, with reduced Zn, Cd and Pb levels in radish bulbs. Pb isotope ratios in soil and spinach leaf samples taken in the previous study were assessed by multi-collector (MC-) ICP-MS to trace Pb uptake from soils into food. A direct linkage between the Pb isotopic signatures in soil and those in spinach leaves was observed, underscoring their effectiveness as tracers of Pb sources in the environment. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)

KW - Environmental monitoring

KW - Food safety

KW - Heavy metals

KW - ICP-MS

KW - Multielement analysis

KW - Pb isotope ratios

KW - Soil remediation

KW - Urban agriculture

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85198100047&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s11356-024-34240-7

DO - 10.1007/s11356-024-34240-7

M3 - Article

C2 - 38985423

AN - SCOPUS:85198100047

VL - 31.2024

SP - 47022

EP - 47038

JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research

JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research

SN - 0944-1344

IS - 34

ER -