Biochar reduces uptake and accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in winter wheat on a PAH-contaminated soil

For years, biochar has been successfully used for the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated soils, not only for improving their removal from soil but also for reducing their uptake by crops. However, the underlying mechanism of biochar application reducing PAH uptake and accumulation in winter wheat remains unclear. Pot trials were conducted on a PAH-contaminated soil amended with bamboo biochar, coconut shell biochar, and maize straw biochar (MSB) for an entire growth period of winter wheat. Compared with no biochar control (CK), application of the three types of biochar significantly (P < 0.01) reduced grain PAH concentration, total equivalent concentration (TEC), and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR), indicating that biochar application, especially MSB, reduced the risk of exposure to PAHs in wheat grain. Furthermore, all three types of biochar significantly (P < 0.05) reduced PAH uptake and accumulation in wheat roots and stems, probably because biochar application enhanced the degradation of PAHs in the rhizosphere soil. Compared with CK, application of the three types of biochar significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the concentration of PAHs in the rhizosphere soil by 15.9%–33.7%. It was found that the degradation rate of high-molecular-weight (HMW) PAHs (5- and 6-ring PAHs) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of low-molecular-weight (LMW) PAHs (2–4-ring PAHs) regardless of the type of biochar used. Additionally, all three types of biochar significantly increased the relative abundance of the dominant bacterial phyla and genera in soil. Redundancy and correlation analyses also showed that there was a strong correlation between the removal rate of PAHs and dominant bacteria in the rhizosphere soil. This study indicated that biochar effectively reduced the health risk from dietary exposure to PAHs in wheat grains by increasing the abundance of bacteria related to PAH degradation, promoting the biodegradation of PAHs in the rhizosphere soil, and consequently reducing PAH uptake by wheat.