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Volume 12
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10.3390/environments12110447
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Amendment of Contaminated Soils with Biochar and Peat: Effects on Metal Solubility and Uptake in Grass and Earthworms in a Field Trial

by
Charlotta Tiberg
1,*,
Dan B. Kleja
1,2,
Carin Sjöstedt
2,
Mats Fröberg
1,3,
Ingrid Rijk
4,
A. Sigrun Dahlin
2,5,
Maria Larsson
4,
Alf Ekblad
4,
Viktor Sjöberg
4 and
Anja Enell
1
1
Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI), SE-581 93 Linköping, Sweden
2
Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
3
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, SE-106 48 Stockholm, Sweden
4
MTM Research Centre, Örebro University, SE-701 82 Örebro, Sweden
5
Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Environments 2025, 12(11), 447; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12110447 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 24 September 2025 / Revised: 12 November 2025 / Accepted: 14 November 2025 / Published: 20 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar as an Environmental Technology)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The effectiveness of biochar amendment for remediation purposes depends on many factors related to the biochar and the contaminated site. Therefore, each application must be evaluated site-specifically. To facilitate full-scale implementation, more information from field studies on biochar-amended contaminated sites, as well as cost-effective approaches to evaluate the remediation efficacy of specific biochar materials are needed. We studied the effects of biochar and peat on metal solubility and bioavailability in a contaminated soil in a fully factorial field trial. The biochar was produced from wood via gasification in a floating fixed-bed reactor at 750 °C. Soil solutions from field-installed lysimeters, grass (Lolium perenne L), and earthworms (Eisenia fetida) were analyzed. In addition, a standardized batch leaching test (ISO 21268-2:2019) was performed to evaluate its feasibility to mimic soil solution concentrations. The results showed that biochar generally reduced the solubility and uptake of cationic metals. In situ solubility of Cu and Hg was reduced more than 80%, and Zn up to 70%. Soil solution concentrations of Cr increased in biochar-amended soils, but this effect was reduced by peat. Peat had small effects on in situ solubility of other metals. For cations, the batch test showed the same trends as the soil solution, with biochar decreasing solubility. However, mobilization of colloids during shaking in the batch test induced artefacts, leading to an overestimation of the solubility of some metals, especially Pb and Hg, an effect that was enhanced by peat applications.
Keywords: lysimeter; batch test; sustainable remediation; trace elements; copper; lead; mercury; zinc; barium; chromium lysimeter; batch test; sustainable remediation; trace elements; copper; lead; mercury; zinc; barium; chromium

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MDPI and ACS Style

Tiberg, C.; Kleja, D.B.; Sjöstedt, C.; Fröberg, M.; Rijk, I.; Dahlin, A.S.; Larsson, M.; Ekblad, A.; Sjöberg, V.; Enell, A. Amendment of Contaminated Soils with Biochar and Peat: Effects on Metal Solubility and Uptake in Grass and Earthworms in a Field Trial. Environments 2025, 12, 447. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12110447

AMA Style

Tiberg C, Kleja DB, Sjöstedt C, Fröberg M, Rijk I, Dahlin AS, Larsson M, Ekblad A, Sjöberg V, Enell A. Amendment of Contaminated Soils with Biochar and Peat: Effects on Metal Solubility and Uptake in Grass and Earthworms in a Field Trial. Environments. 2025; 12(11):447. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12110447

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tiberg, Charlotta, Dan B. Kleja, Carin Sjöstedt, Mats Fröberg, Ingrid Rijk, A. Sigrun Dahlin, Maria Larsson, Alf Ekblad, Viktor Sjöberg, and Anja Enell. 2025. "Amendment of Contaminated Soils with Biochar and Peat: Effects on Metal Solubility and Uptake in Grass and Earthworms in a Field Trial" Environments 12, no. 11: 447. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12110447

APA Style

Tiberg, C., Kleja, D. B., Sjöstedt, C., Fröberg, M., Rijk, I., Dahlin, A. S., Larsson, M., Ekblad, A., Sjöberg, V., & Enell, A. (2025). Amendment of Contaminated Soils with Biochar and Peat: Effects on Metal Solubility and Uptake in Grass and Earthworms in a Field Trial. Environments, 12(11), 447. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12110447

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