Phytotoxicity of lanthanum in rice in haplic acrisols and cambisols

Growth and physiological responses of rice to lanthanum were studied to elucidate the function of lanthanum in plants and its critical concentration relative to environmental safety. Shoot La content increased with the increasing added La concentrations. When shoot La content exceeded a toxic value, plant growth and chlorophyll a/b decreased and peroxidase (POD) activity, cell membrane permeability, and content of proline in the leaf increased. Leaf chlorophyll a/b and POD activity might provide useful criteria for early diagnoses of phytotoxicity of soil contaminated by La. In the present study, the critical concentration of La for rice relative to environmental safety was suggested to be 42.03 mg kg−1 in red soil and 83.33 mg kg−1 in paddy soil.