3.2.2. Water status and concentrations of nutrients and TMs
Significant increases in the N content (%) were observed in both
the needles and lateral roots of the treated seedlings, whereas no
pronounced changes in P concentrations were observed (Table 3).
In the needles, the N content was approximately twice as high as in
the lateral roots for all experimental setups. However, no differ-
ences in water potential were found for either of the two SS
applications after 12 months of culturing. The water potentials
ranged between
1.27 and
1.05 MPa. Also, K exhibited the same
pattern as Mn. The concentrations of these elements increased
significantly in both the needles and lateral roots for the highest SS
application rate. There was no treatment effect on the Mg, Zn, Pb
and Cd concentrations. The Cu concentrations were significantly
higher in the lateral roots of the 60S seedlings. The Cu ratio
between the lateral roots and needles was 5.2, 4.7 and 10.4 for the
0S, 30S and 60S treatments, respectively. The mineral element and
TM contents of all the plants are presented in Fig. 4. The total
amount of these elements increased significantly in treated
seedlings. In addition, with the exception of Cu, there were no
significant differences between the two SS application rates.