Uptake Prediction of Ten Heavy Metals by Eruca sativa Mill. Cultivated in Soils Amended with Sewage Sludge

This study was carried out to develop mathematical regression equations for predicting the uptake of ten heavy metals (HMs) (cadmium, Cd; cobalt, Co; chromium, Cr; copper, Cu; iron, Fe; manganese, Mn; molybdenum, Mo; nickel, Ni; lead, Pb; zinc, Zn) by a vegetable species (Eruca sativa Mill.) in the Abha region (Saudi Arabia) based on the concentration of these HMs in soils amended with sewage sludge, organic matter (OM) content and soil pH. The resultant regression equations indicated that the three soil factors were significant predictors for the uptake of the ten HMs in the plant tissues. By applying a t test, we found that there are no significant differences between the actual and predicted values of the ten HMs in the E. sativa roots and leaves (P > 0.05), which reflects the goodness of fit of these equations for predicting the uptake of these HMs. Such types of equations may be helpful for evaluating the risk of cultivation of E. sativa plants in soils amended with sewage sludge.