Behavior of Cu and Zn under combined pollution of 2,4-dichlorophenol in the planted soil

Behavior of heavy metals under combined pollution of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) was investigated using metal contaminated soil which was sampled from the heavily industrialized areas, Fuyang county, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China and pretreated with 100 μg g^?1 2,4-DCP for 1 month. Metal complexes were the predominant species for Cu and Zn in the soil solution. The treatment of 2,4-DCP had limited effect on the dissolution of Cu and Zn in the soil without plant root growth. But the metal species might be changed due to the addition of organic pollutant. Planting with rye grass for 1 month, greatly increased both water soluble Cu and Zn. The increase of water soluble Cu and Zn in the presence of 2,4-DCP was much more than that in the absence of 2,4-DCP, which suggested more attention should be paid to the behavior of heavy metals under combined pollution of organic pollutants in the planted soil. The results also indicated that in comparison to Cu, soil planted with ryegrass was more effective in activating Zn from soils, which was consistent with its relative weak chemisorptions on clays, oxides and humus of soils.