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The effect of pH on available Cd in calcareous soils and culture substrate was studied by adding exogenous Cd and artificially adjusting the pH to create different pH conditions. It is expected to provide reference for the control of Cd pollution by adjusting pH. The cadmium chloride was added to the calcareous soil and culture substrate to make the total cadmium content 1.0 mg kg–1. The pH of soil and substrate was adjusted, and then the available cadmium content in soil and cultivation substrate was detected under different pH conditions. The content of available Cd in calcareous soil decreased with increasing pH in the range of pH 3.40 to 8.97, showing a significant negative correlation. At a pH range of 3.03 to 4.37, the available Cd content in the culture substrate increased significantly with increasing pH, while the available Cd content in the culture substrate at a pH range of 4.37 to 9.47 was not significantly different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineral-associated soil organic matter (MAOM) is seen as the key to soil carbon sequestration, but its stability often varies with types of exogenous organic materials. Fulvic acid and manure are ones of the exogenous organic materials used for the improvement of degraded soil. However, little is known about if and how fulvic acid and manure affect the stability of MAOM. Using a field experiment of four fertilization treatments (no fertilization, mineral fertilizers, fulvic acid, and manure) and a comprehensive meta-analysis using relevant studies published prior to January 2020, we investigated effects of exogenous fulvic acid and manure applications on four MAOM stability indexes: association intensity, humus stabilization index, iron oxide complex coefficient, and aluminum oxide complex coefficient. Exogenous fulvic acid and manure applications increased soil organic carbon fractions by 26.04–48.47%, MAOM stability by 12.26–387.41%, and complexed iron/aluminum contents by 16.12–20.01%. Fulvic acid application increased MAOM stability by promoting mineral oxide complexation by 20.33% and manure application improved MAOM stability via increasing humus stabilization by 21–25%. Association intensity was positively correlated with contents of soil carbon fractions and the metal oxide complex coefficients were positively correlated with iron/aluminum oxide contents. Moreover, stable-humus exerted significantly positive direct and indirect effects on association intensity and humus stabilization index, while amorphous iron/aluminum content had significantly negative influences on metal oxide complex coefficients. The meta-analysis verified that long-term fulvic acid application improved MAOM stability more so than manure application in acidic soils. We recommend that strategies aiming to prevent land degradation should focus on the potential of fulvic acid as a soil amendment because it can significantly increase MAOM stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Mineral-organic associations (MOAs) are the basic structural units of soil aggregates and are important reservoirs of nutrients for plants and soil microorganisms, determining the soil structure and fertility. However, the influence of exogenous dissolved organic matter (DOM) chemistry on the stability of MOAs is rarely reported. Materials and methods: We first characterized different exogenous DOM through elemental analysis and spectroscopy analysis technologies. Then, a chamber incubation experiment was conducted with DOM addition concentration at 3 g C kg−1 red soil. Principal component analysis, redundancy analysis, and the partial least squares path model were used to better understand the effect of exogenous DOM chemistry on the stability of MOAs. Results and discussion: The addition of DOM into the red soil significantly increased not only the organic carbon both in the bulk soil and the soil heavy fraction, but also the soil combined humus and the soil mineral-organic compound quantity. Moreover, the rice straw-derived DOM had the best effect on improving the soil mineral-organic compound quantity/degree (additional), followed by the animal-derived DOM, while the fulvic acid increased it the least. The ratios of elements (C/N ratio, O/C ratio, and H/C ratio), aromaticity (SUVA254), and phenolic C content of exogenous DOM had positively significant contributions to the stability of MOAs. Conclusions: The rice straw-derived DOM had the greatest enhancement on the stability of the MOAs for its higher C/N ratio and phenolic groups content, so the exogenous DOM characteristics could be as an indicator in predicting the stability of the MOAs and evaluating the soil fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of manure fertilization on organo-mineral complexes based on unfertilized (CK) and 5-year manure fertilization (M) in red soils (ultisols). Materials and methods: Sequential density fractionation was adopted to obtain particular organic matter (POM, < 1.8 g cm−3) and mineral-associated organic matter (1.8–2.2 g cm−3 (MOM1.8–2.2); 2.2–2.6 (MOM2.2–2.6); > 2.6 (MOM> 2.6)), which were demineralized by hydrofluoric acid (HF). The HF-dissolved organic carbon (OC) was identified as mineral bound OC, and was characterized by comparing the band area of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy before and after 10% HF demineralization. Results and discussion: Manure fertilization significantly increased the OC and nitrogen contents of bulk soil, POM, MOM1.8–2.2, and MOM2.2–2.6, but did not affect MOM> 2.6. About 82.9–86.1% soil OC was retained by MOM1.8–2.2 and MOM2.2–2.6 dominated with iron (Fe) and aluminum oxides and phyllosilicates, in which HF-dissolved OC was significantly positively correlated with poorly crystalline (Feo) (R2 = 0.61, P < 0.01) and organically complexed (Fep) Fe contents (R2 = 0.45, P < 0.05). Moreover, the Feo and Fep contents were higher in M than in CK (P < 0.05), and significantly negatively correlated with the reduction of aromatic C (M had more reduction than CK) following HF demineralization in MOM1.8–2.2 and MOM2.2–2.6 (P < 0.05), indicating Fe bound OC was mainly aromatic C. The quartz and feldspar-dominated MOM> 2.6 was composed of aromatic C, amide N, and polysaccharides, not being affected by fertilization. Conclusions: Our results suggested that manure fertilization promotes organo-mineral association, particularly for aromatic compound-Fe complexes, contributing to OC preservation in red soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although green manure rotation is often used to promote soil fertility and crop yield, the effects of this management practice on the nitrogen or phosphorus balance and the relationship between nutrient balance and the increase in soil nutrients have not been systematically studied.Materials and methods: We investigated the apparent nitrogen and phosphorus balances and their associations with soil nitrogen and phosphorus increases, respectively, in a 34-year-old experimental site with various green manures and rice rotations using linear and logistic models. Cropping treatments included a rice-rice-winter fallow treatment as a control (RRW) and three green manure rotation treatments: rice-rice-ryegrass (RRR), rice-rice-oil rape (RRO), and rice-rice-Chinese milk vetch (RRC).Results and discussion: We found that apparent nitrogen and phosphorus balances of RRR, RRO, and RRC were 164, 162, and 149 kg hm−2, which were all significantly lower than 200 kg hm−2 of RRW (P < 0.05). Moreover, the optimal fitted model of the relationship between cumulative nutrient balance and the increase in soil nutrients was different among treatments. Specifically, the correlation coefficients of cumulative nitrogen balance and soil nitrogen increase of RRR, RRO, and RRC in the linear model (0.49, 0.80, and 0.63) were all significantly lower than in the logistic model (0.81, 0.90, and 0.82). The correlation coefficients of cumulative phosphorus balance and increase in soil phosphorus of RRW in the linear model (0.81) were significantly lower than in the logistic model (0.91). Parameter analysis of the optimal fitted model revealed that RRC would increase the storage capacity of soil nitrogen and decrease the rate of soil phosphorus accumulation.Conclusions: Our results suggested that long-term rice-rice-green manure rotation could significantly change the apparent nitrogen and phosphorus balance and their association with soil nitrogen and phosphorus content, respectively. Our study highlights the importance of green manure rotation in an agro-ecological environment and soil fertility in a double rice cropping system in red paddy soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic (As) accumulation in agricultural soils is prone to crop uptake, posing risk to human health. Passivation shows potential to inactivate soil labile As and lower crop As uptake but often contributes little to improving the microbiota in As-contaminated soils. Here, the combined addition of ferrihydrite and Trichoderma asperellum SM-12F1 as a potential future application for remediation of As-contaminated soil was studied via pot experiments. The results indicated that, compared with the control treatment, the combined addition of ferrihydrite and T. asperellum SM-12F1 significantly increased water spinach shoot and root biomass by 134 and 138%, respectively, and lowered As content in shoot and root by 37 and 34%, respectively. Soil available As decreased by 40% after the combined addition. The variances in soil pH and As fractionation and speciation were responsible for the changes in soil As availability. Importantly, the combined addition greatly increased the total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and gram-positive (G+), gram-negative (G−), actinobacterial, bacterial, fungal PLFAs by 114, 68, 276, 292, 133, and 626%, respectively, compared with the control treatment. Correspondingly, the soil enzyme activities closely associated with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus mineralization and antioxidant activity were improved. The combination of ferrihydrite and T. asperellum SM-12F1 in soils did not reduce their independent effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated arsenic (As) availability and uptake by rape (Brassica campestris L.) during two harvest periods of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-stabilized ferrihydrite (HFO) nanoparticles for in situ treatment As-contaminated soil. Application of modified HFO nanoparticles in soils not only provided a larger specific surface area but also markedly improved stability against aggregation and recrystallization. For 90-day incubation, bare HFO particles were gradually converted to the crystalline Fe(III) oxide form, although this was not observed for the 0.5% CMC-HFO nanoparticles. CMC-modified HFO nanoparticles could be more effective in lowering the As uptake by rape and available As in soils than bare HFO particles. Compared the control without amendments, As contents in rape and available As in soils decreased 69.7 and 59.0%, respectively, during the second harvest when soils were amended with 0.5% HFO nanoparticles. And the soil-solution distribution coefficient (Kd) increased by 2.6 and 2.8 times for the first and second harvest. Furthermore, the ratio of amorphous and free Fe-oxides (Feo/Fed) showed significant negative linear correlations with Asplant (P < 0.01), available As (P < 0.05), and nonspecifically sorbed As in soil (P < 0.01). In contrast, Feo/Fed was positively correlated with Kd and amorphous crystalline Fe/Al oxide-sorbed As, which suggests that a larger amount of As is associated with Fe(hydr)oxide in the amorphous phase or smaller particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mobility of arsenic (As) in soil depends on its sorption/desorption processes on soil particles. Plant uptake locally lowers As concentration in soil pore water, which would trigger resupplies of As from soil solid phase. To better understand the fate of As in soil system after its inputs into soil and its subsequent dynamic processes, diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique along with DGT-induced fluxes in soils (DIFS) model were introduced to study the kinetic information of As in soils, including its response time (TC) and resupply rate constant (k−1). To achieve a series of soils with gradient As level, two different types of soils with similar As level (total As in soil JL is 7.4 mg kg−1, while in soil BJ is 6.5 mg kg−1) were collected and amended with exogenous As. Then, DGT deployments were carried out following a period of 90-day soil incubation. The simulated TC values in non-amended soil JL and soil BJ were 0.036 and 0.001 s−1, respectively. The difference may due to the properties of these two soils, including pH values and contents of adsorption materials, such as Fe and Al compounds. After As inputs into soils, the intrinsic rate of As release from the solid phase to the solution phase in As-amended JL soil was much higher than that in non-amended soil. While for soil BJ, a decreasing trend was observed after As spiking. The redistribution of As may responsible for the different variation trends of As kinetics in these two soils after As spiking. The results indicated that the distribution coefficient of As (Kd) in soil was mainly affected by soil Olsen-P content due to an ubiquitous competition between P and As on soil particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nitrifiers and denitrifiers are the key drivers of N cycling in paddy soil. Little is known about the effects of different fertilization methods, especially side bar fertilization, on the community of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in paddy soils. Here we assess the relationships between soil physicochemical properties, denitrification and nitrification activities, and the underlying microbial communities in a surface layer of paddy field soil treated with different fertilization methods. Materials and methods: Soil was unfertilized (control), treated with conventional chemical fertilizer (CF), CF plus pig manure (MC), or slow-release fertilizer (SR), or by slow-release side bar fertilization (SB). Soil was sampled after one season of early and late rice growth. We determined soil physicochemical properties, potential nitrification rates (PNR), and denitrification enzyme activities (DEA). Ammonia-oxidizing archaeal (AOA) and bacterial (AOB) communities were assessed via their ammonia monooxygenase ( amoA) genes, and denitrifiers via nitrite reductases ( nirK and nirS) and nitrous oxide reductase ( nosZ). Quantitative PCR was used to assess gene abundance, terminal restriction fragment polymorphism (T-RFLP) to investigate fertilization effects on microbial communities, and clone library sequencing and phylogenetic analysis to explore the taxonomic diversity of the nitrifiers and denitrifiers. Results: Fertilization significantly increased the amount of NH -N in the soil of SB and MC treatments, whereas MC lowered the NO -N level. DEA was higher for MC and CF than the other treatments. The PNR in MC-treated soil was significantly lower than that in CF-treated soil. There were no significant differences in AOA and nirS copy numbers; however, nirK and nosZ copy numbers were higher for MC compared with CF. The number of AOA terminal restriction fragments (TRFs) increased significantly with N addition and reached the highest level for SB, whereas the number of AOB TRFs did not change significantly between treatments. Similarly, the number of nirK TRFs increased under fertilization, with the highest number obtained for SR; however, no significant change was observed for nirS and nosZ TRFs across different treatments, except for their relative abundance. All AOA amoA genotypes were in archaeal group 1.1b, whereas 95% AOB were in Nitrosospira cluster 3a. More than 40% of nirS OTUs were affiliated with Herbaspirillum, a key N-cycle player in this paddy soil. Conclusions: The SB and MC treatments had significant effects on soil N, DEA, and PNR levels, and affected the community of N-functional microbes. SB in combination with pig manure would contribute to the improvement of paddy soil fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteria capable of arsenate [As(V)] reduction can be used for remediation of As-contaminated soils via bio-extraction. In this study, As-resistant bacteria were isolated and their abilities to resist and reduce As(V) as well as As bio-extracted from soils naturally contaminated with As were studied. The results indicated that three isolates (2-2, 4-3, and 8-5) showed greater abilities to resist As(V) than other isolates. When the isolates were exposed to 10 mg L As(V), As(V) contents decreased, while arsenite [As(III)] increased over time. In comparison, isolates 2-2 and 4-3 completely reduced As(V) into As(III) within 6 h. According to phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, isolates 2-2, 4-3, and 8-5 were most closely related to Pseudomonas taiwanensis, P. monteilii, and Pseudomonas sp., respectively. Total As contents in soils significantly ( P < 0.05) decreased after bacterial extraction. The maximum As removal of 21.6% was observed following inoculation of isolate 2-2 into soil-1. Bacterial extraction weakened the binding between As and the soil solid phase, resulting in As removal from the soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil cadmium (Cd) availability and uptake by cherry-red radish ( Raphanus sativus) grown in Cd-contaminated soils after addition with wheat straw or composted pig manure were studied. The results indicated that wheat straw application promoted radish growth until the second harvest, while pig manure application improved radish biomass in Acid Ferralsols regardless of harvesting seasons. Application with pig manure might be more effective in lowering the Cd uptake by radish than wheat straw. Especially when pig manure of 11.9 g TOC kg amended into Acid Ferralsols, Cd contents in leaves and roots of radish decreased by 89.2 and 95.7 % at the second harvest, respectively. The changes in Cd fractions distribution in soils after application were contributed to the decline of Cd availability. Furthermore, significantly negative linear correlation ( P < 0.05) between the ratio of humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) in soils and exchangeable Cd was also observed. However, the significantly negative relationship ( P < 0.01) between soil pH and exchangeable Cd was merely found in pig manure-treated Acid Ferralsols. The increases in HA/FA ratio or pH values in soils after adding organic materials were also responsible for the decrease of Cd availability in soils and uptake by radish. Thus, it is recommended to stabilize soil Cd and reducing plant uptake by application with composted manure without or slightly contaminated with metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of arsenic (As) re-accumulation in an area previously remediated by soil dressing will help in sustainable controlling the risks of As to local ecosystems and should influence management decisions about remediation strategies. In this study, As content in an area remediated by soil dressing and the possible As accumulation risk in agricultural products were investigated. The results indicated that after 7 years of agricultural activities, the average As content (24.6 mg kg) in surface soil of the investigated area increased by 83.6 % compared with that (13.4 mg kg) in clean soil. Of the surface soil samples ( n = 88), 21.6 % had As levels that exceeded the limits of the Environmental Quality Standard for Soils of China (GB 15618-1995) and 98.9 % of the surface soil samples with As contents exceeding that in clean soil was observed. Soil dressing might be not a remediation method once and for all in some contaminated areas, even though no significant difference in available As content was found between clean (0.18 mg kg) and surface (0.22 mg kg) soils. The foreign As in surface soil of the investigated area mainly specifically sorbed with soil colloid or associated with hydrous oxides of Fe and Al, or existed in residual fraction. The upward movement of contaminated soil from the deeper layers and the atmospheric deposition of slag particles might be responsible for the re-accumulation of As in the investigated area. Decreases in soil pH in the investigated soils and the fact that no plant samples had As levels exceeding the limits of the National Food Safety Standards for Contaminants of China (GB 2762-2012) were also observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Organic carbon preservation promoted by aromatic compound-iron complexes through manure fertilization in red soil", written by Yunjie Wen et al., was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 12 September 2020 with open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) is most effective with high treatment capacity on arsenate [As(V)] sorption although its transformation and aggregation nature need further improvement. Here, HFO nanoparticles with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) or starch as modifier was synthesized for the purpose of stability improvement and As(V) removal from water. Comparatively, CMC might be the optimum stabilizer for HFO nanoparticles because of more effective physical and chemical stability. The large-pore structure, high surface specific area, and the non-aggregated nature of CMC-HFO lead to increased adsorption sites, and thus high adsorption capacities of As(V) without pre-treatment (355 mg·g−1), which is much greater than those reported in previous studies. Second-order equation and dual-mode isotherm model could be successfully used to interpret the sorption kinetics and isotherms of As(V), respectively. FTIR, XPS and XRD analyses suggested that precipitation and surface complexation were primary mechanisms for As(V) removal by CMC modified HFO nanoparticles. A surface complexation model (SCM) was used to simulate As adsorption over pH 2.5-10.4. The predominant adsorbed arsenate species were modeled as bidentate binuclear surface complexes at low pH and as monodentate complexes at high pH. The immobilized arsenic remained stable when aging for 270 d at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]