Influence of soil water content and soil amendments on trace metal release and seedling growth in serpentine soil

Purpose This study was conducted to evaluate the synergistic effects of organic amendments and soil water status on trace metal release from serpentine soil. Materials and methods Two organic amendments, dendro-biochar (BC) and municipal solid waste compost (CM), were added to serpentine soil at four different ratios, specifically 2.5:0.0, 2.5:1.0, 2.5:2.5, and 2.5:5.0% (w/w). Along with the control (with no organic amendments), each soil treatment was incubated separately under saturated point (SP) and field capacity (FC) water content for 10 days. Subsamples were obtained from each treatment to analyze the bioavailable trace metal concentration and related edaphic parameters, namely total organic carbon (TOC), nitrate (NO3−), phosphate (PO43−), and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Then, the soil solution was eluded from each treatment and incubated for 10 days under permanent wilting point (PW). Furthermore, a seed germination test was performed under the different treatments. Results and discussion Significant reductions (p