Ecotoxicity of 2,4-dinitrotoluene to cold tolerant plant species in a sub-Arctic soil

• Main Authors: Doherty, Stacey J., Komi S. Messan, Busby, Ryan R., Barbato, Robyn A.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2019
• Subjects: Biochemistry; Biotechnology; 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Earth and related environmental sciences; Ecology; FOS Biological sciences; Plant Biology; 60506 Virology; Arctic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.8034692.v1; https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/Ecotoxicity_of_2_4-dinitrotoluene_to_cold_tolerant_plant_species_in_a_sub-Arctic_soil/8034692/1

Decades of live-fire training exercises have left millions of acres of military training lands contaminated with various munitions constituents such as dinitrotoluene. Those that pose a threat to higher organisms due to their toxicity and mobility in the soil are of particular concern. Plants aid in the biodegradation and phytoextraction of contaminants, and site-specific ecotoxicity determinations are critical to inform effective remediation strategy. These ecotoxicity determinations are lacking in cold-adapted plants and would be very informative for contaminated training lands in cold regions. Therefore, we conducted a phytotoxicity study to determine the median effective concentration (EC 50 ) of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) to four native Alaskan plant species in a sub-Arctic soil at two different temperatures. Plant species investigated were white spruce ( Picea glauca ), field locoweed ( Oxytropis campestris ), bluejoint grass ( Calamagrostis canadensis ), and Jacob’s ladder ( Polemonium pulcherrimum ). Seedling emergence, fresh plant mass, and dry plant mass were used to model plant response to 2,4-DNT contamination. White spruce was most tolerant to 2,4-DNT contamination (EC 50 = 130.8 mg kg −1 ) and field locoweed was least tolerant (EC 50 = 0.38 mg kg −1 ). In general, Arctic plant species were more vulnerable to 2,4-DNT when compared to plant types native to temperate or tropical regions.