The effects of localized zinc (ZnO) and cadmium (CdS) enrichment on the allocation of root biomass, root length and partitioning of current assimilate within root systems of the Zn hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens were investigated using a rhizobox system. The rhizoboxes contained either homogeneous soil or juxtaposed control and metal-enriched soil. In the heterogeneous treatments the Zn-enriched soil contained 250, 500 or 1000 mg Zn kg−1. The plants consistently allocated c. 70% of their total root biomass and length into the metal-enriched soil. Moreover, 70% of the current assimilate (14C) allocated to the roots was localized in the Zn-enriched soil of the heterogeneous treatments. The concentration of Zn (250–1000 mg kg−1) in the enriched soil had no effect on these patterns of root allocation, nor were there significant effects of the Zn treatments on the total root or shoot biomass of the plants. The positive responses to the localized metal treatments were therefore characterized by a concomitant reduction in root allocation into the control soil. In contrast to T. caerulescens, when grown with juxtaposed control and Zn-enriched soil the non-accumulator Thlaspi arvense showed reduced root allocation into a patch enriched with 500 mg kg−1 Zn. In a further experiment, two populations of T. caerulescens that differ in their abilities to accumulate Cd were grown with juxtaposed control and Cd-enriched soil. The plants from a population that accumulated Cd also showed increased root biomass and root length allocation into the Cd-enriched soil. Plants from the population that did not accumulate Cd showed no such increase. The possibility that T. caerulescens forages for metals, and the precision of its root allocation with respect to localized metal enrichment is highlighted. The significance of these findings for the selection of hyperaccumulator plants for use in the phytoextraction of Zn and Cd from mine spoils (phytomining) and the phytoremediation of heterogeneous contaminated soils are discussed.

The capacity to accumulate cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) was compared in Thlaspi goesingense and four populations of Thlaspi caerulescens. Two populations of T. caerulescens were grown in hydroponics at five concentrations of Cd. In addition, plants were grown in pots containing compost in which three different concentrations of Cd and two concentrations of Zn were added. A field trial was conducted to compare Zn and Cd uptake by three populations of T. caerulescens on nine selected plots of the Woburn Market Garden Experiment (UK) which had been contaminated to different degrees with heavy metals owing to past applications of sewage sludge. Results show that the four populations of T. caerulescens had the same ability to hyperaccumulate Zn but were significantly different in terms of Cd accumulation. Two populations of T. caerulescens from Southern France accumulated much more Cd than the populations from Prayon (Belgium) and Whitesike (UK). Generally, uptake of Cd was not decreased by increased concentrations of Zn in the substrate. These results indicate that the mechanisms of Cd and Zn hyperaccumulation are not identical in this species. This is the first report of hyperaccumulation of Cd by T. goesingense, but the growth of this species was markedly reduced by the large concentrations of Zn in the substrate. Future work should focus on the differences between Cd and Zn uptake in hyperaccumulator plants at the species and population level.