Dichromate Digestion–Spectrophotometric Procedure for Determination of Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon in Association with Fumigation–Extraction

A dichromate digestion and spectrophotometric procedure is proposed for estimating soil microbial biomass carbon (C) in association with fumigation–extraction. The recommended procedure uses a volume (1.6 ml) of 0.5 M potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄) soil extracts and oxidant solution (dichromate–sulfuric acid, 2.4 mL), mixed with a volume (4 mL) for digestion at 140 °C for 30 min. The digested solution is then directly read for absorbance at 350 nm using a spectrophotometer, and the C in the digested soil extracts is measured against glucose standards. The K_EC (indicating the extractable part of microbial biomass C after fumigation) value is estimated as 0.33 for the proposed method. There are good correlations between soil microbial biomass C measured by the proposed method, the dichromate digestion titration, and oven oxidation by total organic C (TOC) analytical method. This method is a simple, rapid, and economical procedure associated with fumigation–extraction for biomass C analysis.     

土壤微量节肢动物组织中镉测定方法的改进

Highly precise and reliable determination of heavy metals in soil micro-arthropod tissues remains a challenge because of the small size of the animals and their typical low abundance in metal-contaminated agricultural soils. The present study sought to develop a method for cadmium(Cd) determination in soil micro-arthropods by optimizing the sample digestion procedure, reducing sample weight, modifying sample pre-treatment and validating the methodology with field samples. The optimized digestion conditions comprised a sample mass of 50–150 μg, digestion reagent of nitric acid:hydrogen peroxide(3:1), digestion temperature of 105℃,digestion period of 3 h and digestion volume of 30 μL. Defecation of the standard Collembola Folsomia candida(92 h) and the indigenous Collembola Onychiurus yodai(42 h) and ultrasonic cleaning of F. candida increased the accuracy of Cd determination.The recovery of Cd using the refined procedure was 98.9% and the limits of detection and quantification were 0.002 and 0.008 μg L~(-1), respectively. The within-batch precision values were 3%. The Cd concentrations in the tissues of the Collembola Isotoma sp.collected from a range of metal-contaminated fields determined by the improved method were consistent with the Cd concentrations in the field soils. The results indicate that the optimized method can be used for more accurate or reliable determination of Cd concentrations in soil micro-arthropod tissues.     

DISTRIBUTION AND PHYTOAVAILABILITY PREDICTION OF ZINC IN AGRICULTURAL CALCAREOUS SOILS

The extractability and distributions of zinc (Zn) were evaluated in calcareous agricultural soils from South-West Iran. Both single [diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)] and sequential extraction procedures (Singh scheme) were applied to 20 representative soils. The DTPA extractable zinc levels were low (on average 3.34%). The sequential extraction procedures were also utilized for the study of zinc phytoavailability in maize plants (Zea mays L.) in a greenhouse experiment. The Singh scheme was significantly better than DTPA plus soil properties in phytoavailability prediction of zinc in soils. Significant correlations were found between the amounts of DTPA extractable zinc and the iron (Fe) oxides-bound (AFe and CFe) and residual fractions extracted by the Singh procedure. Zinc concentrations in plant samples (mean value of 27.49 mg kg^?1) were poorly correlated with the different extracted soil fractions (single and sequential). The Singh procedure provided better predictions of zinc uptake by plants than DTPA extraction method.     

A simple rapid method for the measurement of exchangeable cations and effective cation exchange capacity

Abstract

A simple single‐extraction procedure for measuring exchangeable cations and effective CEC (ECEC, the CEC at natural pH and ionic strength) has been developed for routine advisory soil analysis. The method is based on the use of Sr (1.26M SrCl₂) to displace exchangeable cations and effective CEC is taken as the sum of the exchangeable cations. A ten minute shaking time at 5 g:80 ml, soil solution ratio, was found to be optimum. Good agreement was found between the proposed method and the standard neutral IN ammonium acetate leaching procedure with correlation coefficients (r) for the individual cations Mg, Ca, Na and K of 0.99***, 0.99***, 0.83*** and 0.96*** respectively. Strontium chloride extracted more Al but less Mn (P<0.01) than IN KC1, but because of the low levels of these cations in relation to the total cations present, there was still a good relationship (r= 0.99) between ECEC determined by 1.26M SrCl₂ and that determined as the sum of ammonium acetate extractable Mg, Ca, Na and K plus IN KCl‐extracted Al and Mn.     

伏牛山区迎河小流域不同土地利用类型的土壤粒径分布特征

为探讨伏牛山区坡耕地土壤物理性能的退化特征,在河南省鲁山县迎河小流域,利用激光粒度仪和土壤分形模型,比较分析了4种土地利用类型的土壤粒径分布(PSD)及其分形特征.研究结果表明:1)土壤PSD简单分维(Dv)以乔木林地最高(2.658),坡耕地最低(2.489),多重分维(容量维D0、信息维D1、关联维D2)以乔木林地最高(0.941、0.926、0.91),坡耕地最低(0.927、0.899、0.849).不同分形参数均表现为:坡耕地＜灌草坡地和水平梯田＜乔木林地;2)土壤PSD的Dv、D0、D1和D2,与黏粒和粉粒体积分数显著正相关,与砂粒体积分数显著负相关.因此,利用土壤PSD简单分形和多重分形维数,可量化表征土壤质地的粗细程度和非均匀性质的差别;坡耕地土壤质地的粗粒化程度和非均匀性明显大于其他土地利用类型;土壤细粒(黏粒和粉粒)物质流失是坡耕地土壤质地粗粒化和非均匀程度增大的重要原因.     

Experimental evaluation of methods to quantify dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in soil

A significant proportion of the total nutrient in soil solution can be bound to organic molecules and these often constitute a major loss from soil to freshwater. Our purpose was to determine whether chemical extractants used for measuring inorganic N could also be used to quantify dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and carbon (DOC) in soil. In a range of soils, DOC and DON were extracted with either distilled water or 2 M KCl and the amount recovered compared with that present in soil solution recovered by centrifugal-drainage. The recovery of DON and DOC from soil was highly dependent upon the method of extraction. Factors such as soil sampling strategy (number of samples over space and time), sample preparation (sieving and drying), soil storage, extraction temperature, shaking time, and soil-to-extractant volume ratio all significantly affected the amount of DOC and DON extracted from soil. To allow direct comparison between independent studies we therefore propose the introduction of a standardized extraction procedure: Replicate samples of unsieved, field-moist soil extracted as soon as possible after collection with distilled water, 0.5 M K₂SO₄ or 2 M KCl at a 1:5 w/v ratio for 1 h at 20 °C.     

Comparison of standard and total Colwell procedures for measuring soil test phosphorus

Abstract

When soils are extracted with sodium bicarbonate to measure soil test phosphorus (P) by the standard Colwell procedure, the concentration of P in the extract solution is measured using the Murphy and Riley procedure. This measures P as orthophosphate (PO₄) and most of the organic P extracted is not measured. The total (inorganic plus organic) P extracted can be measured by digesting an aliquot of the extract solution with perchloric acid to convert all the extracted P to PO₄ before measuring the P concentration by the Murphy and Riley procedure. This is called total Colwell P. Data from one crop and two pasture field experiments in Western Australia are presented in which soil test P measured in 1991 and 1992 by the standard and total Colwell procedures were compared. Fertiliser P residues, including organic P, accumulate in the topsoil because, (i) the fertiliser is applied to the surface of pastures, and (ii) crops are being increasingly sown by minimum (conservation) tillage when P is concentrated in the top approximate 5 cm of the soil compared with about 10 cm when crops are sown conventionally. Consequently, to measure soil test P in the present study, soil samples were collected in February 1991 to either 5 or 10 cm depth. For the two Colwell procedures and both sampling depths, soil test P was related to: (i) the level of P applied in previous years and to (ii) plant yield measured later on that year (the soil test P calibration). Soil test P was larger for the total Colwell procedure and for soil samples collected to 5 cm depth. Total Colwell P as the dependent variable was closely correlated with standard Colwell P as the independent variable. The relationship between soil test P and the level of P applied, and the calibration relating yield to soil test P, were different for standard and total Colwell P. Neither method can be claimed to be significantly better than the other. It is concluded that use of the total Colwell procedure instead of the standard procedure is not warranted. Likewise, there was no evidence that collecting soil samples to 5 cm to measure soil test P provided better estimates of the current P status of soils than collecting soils to the standard 10 cm depth. There is therefore no need to change the sampling depth.     

Soil Phosphorus Extracted by Bray 1 and Mehlich 3 Soil Tests as Affected by the Soil/Solution Ratio in Mollisols

Different relationships between soil-test methods results have been reported in several agricultural regions. Differences in the same soil-test procedure (e.g., soil/solution ratio) exist between soil-testing laboratories from different agricultural regions. Our objectives were to (1) determine the effect of soil/solution ratio on the amount of phosphorus removed by Bray 1 and Mehlich 3 methods, (2) compare the amounts of phosphorus removed by Bray 1 and Mehlich 3 in Mollisols from the Pampean region, and (3) determine whether soil/solution ratio affects the relationship between Bray 1 and Mehlich 3. Soil phosphorus availability was determined with two extractants (Bray 1 and Mehlich 3), using two soil/solution ratios (1:10 and 1:8, wt/v) in 72 soils (noncalcareous, loess-derived Molisolls) from the Pampean region. The amount of phosphorus removed was 20–24% greater when using 1:10 than 1:8 (wt/v) soil/solution ratio. This effect was significantly greater in Bray 1 than in Mehlich 3 (p = 0.04). When compared using the same soil/solution ratio, Mehlich 3 removed 4 to 8% more phosphorus than Bray 1. The soil/solution ratio used in the comparison affected the relationship between both extractants. The difference between extractants was slightly greater with a soil/solution ratio of 1:8 than of 1:10 (p = 0.03). Our results showed that even when using the same method, changes in the procedure (like soil/solution ratio) may cause different soil-test results and also differences in the relationship between two extracting solutions. Therefore, reported relationships between two methods are only valid for the soils and region where the relationship was developed and should not be extrapolated to other regions, even with similar soils.     

Uniformity of soil test results as influenced by volume weight

Abstract

Samples of four soils having a wide range of volume weights (0.65, 1.02, 1.25, 1.62 g/cm³) were either weighed or measured by volume and extracted with: (a) the Bray P₁ extractant, (b) the Mehlich double acid extractant for P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn and (c) neutral N NH₄OAc for K, Ca, Mg all at a soil/extracting solution ratio of 1:10. The soil test results were recorded on a volume basis in mg/dm³ and on a weight basis in mg/kg.

The test values for all macronutrients obtained with all extractants decreased, relative to a constant volume, with increasing VW of soil when analyzed and expressed on a weight basis. Results based on the use of a volume sample (scooped) but calculated on an assumed weight of soil changed the values in direct ratio of 1/assumed VW. The use of an assumed VW has no justification, since uniform soil test results can be obtained when expressed on a volume basis by either using a scooped sample of known volume or a weighed sample followed by multiplication with the VW of each soil.     

Estimating non‐crystalline and crystalline aluminum and iron by selective dissolution in a riparian forest soil

Abstract

We compared sequential and separate extraction procedures for estimating non‐crystalline and crystalline aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) in a floodplain forest soil. We used 0.2M acid ammonium oxalate (pH 3.0) to estimate non‐crystalline Al and Fe, dithionite‐citrate‐bicarbonate to estimate crystalline Fe, and 0.1M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to estimate crystalline Al. Both separate and various combinations of sequential extractions were compared, as well as variations in soil:solution ratio, extraction time, extraction temperature, and the use of field‐moist versus dried soils. A sequential oxalate/NaOH extraction, using 0.4 g dry weight equivalent of field‐moist soil and a soil:solution ratio of 1:100, gave the best estimate of non‐crystalline Al and Fe and crystalline Al, while a separate 16 hour DCB extraction at room temperature, using 0.8 g dry weight equivalent of field‐moist soil and a soil:solution ratio of 1:50, gave the best estimate for non‐crystalline plus crystalline Fe. A sequential oxalate/NaOH extraction followed by a separate DCB extraction is a relatively simple procedure for estimating amounts of non‐crystalline and crystalline Al and Fe in large numbers of soil samples.     

土壤中硒的形态连续浸提方法的研究

通过改进的连续浸提实验,将富Se土壤中Se的赋存状态分成5种形态:水溶态、可交换态、酸溶态(碳酸盐及铁锰氧化物结合态)、有机物结合态、残渣态,并用HG-AFS法检测了各形态Se和总Se,结果表明,该提取方法的精密度和准确度好,简便﹑可靠易行。     

坐水播种时耕层土壤水分入渗的二维数值模拟

描述了坐水播种时土壤水分入渗的物理过程，根据非饱和土壤水运动理论，对其建立了二维数学模型，用交替隐式差分法进行了求解，并用室内试验验证了数值模拟结果。通过对模拟结果的分析，说明了回土量、较低土壤初始含水率以及种沟宽度对入渗过程的影响，由此提出了坐水播种实践中控制回土量的3个条件。     

Effect of a fly ash and gypsum mixture on rice cultivation

Abstract

The salt titration (ST) method was evaluated as a method to determine ZPC in comparison with the potentiometric titration (PT) method for 26 soils with variable charge clays, i.e., Oxisols and Ultisols from Thailand and Andisols from Japan. In addition to the determination of ST-pH₀ as the zero point of charge, a calculation procedure (STPT method) was adopted here in order to acquire more information from the titration curve. Furthermore, for the purpose of cross-checking of ZPC determined by the PT method, the ST procedure was successively applied to the samples analyzed by the PT method (PTST method).

The soil to solution ratios of 1: 10 to 1: 5 gave almost an identical ST-pH₀ value for every soil. The values of both ST-pH₀ and PT-ZPC ranged from 4.7 to 6.3 for the Andisols, while for the Oxisols and Ultisols, they were always below 4.2. The difference between the values of ST-pH₀ and PT-ZPC was only slight for the Andisols, whereas it was sometimes large (0.4 pH unit) for the Oxisols and Ultisols. Nevertheless, it was concluded that the ST method with its modification (STPT) was comparable to or even better than the PT method for the soil characterization work due to its convenience and simplicity.     

有机物料与化肥配施提高黄泥田水稻产量和土壤肥力

农业有机物料具有资源化再利用的特点,与化肥配施既可以保证作物产量,也可以提升地力。为了建立最适宜的南方低产黄泥田培肥模式,该文在浙江金衢盆地开展3年田间试验研究化肥与不同有机物料(菇渣、紫云英、牛粪和秸秆)配施对水稻产量和土壤肥力的影响。结果表明:1)有机物料与化肥配施可以显著提高水稻产量,化肥+菇渣、化肥+紫云英、化肥+牛粪和化肥+秸秆处理下,水稻三年的平均产量分别比单施化肥提高了9.7%、9.5%、12.3%和9.5%;2)有机物料与化肥配合施用,土壤有机质、土壤养分(全氮、有效磷、速效钾和CEC)及土壤容重较单施化肥处理有一定程度的改善,其中,化肥+牛粪效果最明显,有机质质量分数提高了12.5%,土壤有效磷质量分数提高了37.7%,CEC提高了16.1%;3)与单施化肥相比,化肥+菇渣、化肥+牛粪处理下5 mm机械稳定性大团聚体分别提高了10.4%和6.7%,各配施处理均显著降低了团聚体破坏率。总得来讲,连续三年有机物料与化肥配施较单施化肥处理提高了水稻产量、改善了土壤肥力状况、增加了土壤团聚体稳定性,其中又以牛粪与化肥配合施用效果最佳。     

THE DETERMINATION OF DESORPTION ISOTHERMS FOR SOIL PHOSPHATE USING LOW VOLUMES OF SOLUTION AND AN ANION EXCHANGE RESIN

Phosphate desorption isotherms were determined (a) by shaking 1 g soil with 3 ml 0.01M CaCl₂ solution plus different amounts of an anion exchange resin, and (b) by diluting soil with different volumes of 0.01M CaCl₂ solution. Adsorption isotherms were determined using a soil to solution ratio of 1 g to 3 ml. In soils of intermediate P status adsorption isotherms appeared continuous with desorption by method (a), but not with desorption by method (b), which predicted lower buffer powers than did (a). Method (a) led to increases and (b) to decreases in pH. Additions of dissolved silica had no influence on P desorption by method (b).     

Comparison of Lead Extraction and Detection Procedures for Six Canadian Soils

The effects of acid digestion procedures and instrumentation on extracted lead (Pb) concentrations from several soils, including a mildly Pb-contaminated soil, were determined using a two-factor factorial experiment. The two factors were (i) digestion procedure [seven levels: U.S. EPA, AOAC (dry ashing), nitric acid (NA), three aqua regia procedures (AR1, AR2, and AR3), and hydrofluoric acid (HF)] and (ii) instrumentation [two levels: atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy]. The greatest Pb recovery was obtained when soils were digested with HF and analyzed by AAS. The results suggest that the AOAC procedure (a standard procedure for recovery of soil nutrients and trace elements in Canadian laboratories) and EPA procedure (a standard procedure in American laboratories) may underestimate Pb concentrations in some Atlantic Canadian soil types. The AAS procedure is more accurate than ICP for determining Pb concentrations in soil with a history of PbHAsO₄, at least for Atlantic Canadian soils.     

土壤表面电荷测定的两种方法之比较

用返滴定法和Mehlich法研究测定了我国不同地带土壤 (砖红壤、红壤、黄棕壤、暗棕壤、黑土 )无机胶体的表面电荷。结果表明 :( 1 )两者的测定结果有较大的差异 ,其主要的原因是返滴定法和Mehlich法分别基于不同的衡量标准 ,从不同的侧面反映了土壤表面的电荷性质 ;( 2 )返滴定法与Mehlich法各有其优点 ,但在具体的测定过程中都有些环节可能需要改进。     

Estimation of soil texture from the sample density

Abstract

Soil texture often plays an important role in the interpretation of soil analytical data for fertilizer advisory purposes. A reliable and inexpensive method of clay content estimation is, therefore, a requirement of most advisory laboratories. This note discusses the use of sample density (i.e. the mass of a scooped volume of soil) as an index of clay content. A strong relationship was found to exist between sample density and clay content, and such estimates of clay content were superior to those obtained by experienced pedologists using the “finger test” procedure. The use of this quick and simple procedure is considered to be ideally suited to soil testing laboratories handling large numbers of samples.     

Suitability of the ESS laboratory method to determine the equilibrium soil solution composition of agricultural soils,and suggestions for simplification of the experimental procedure

The proper selection of the background electrolyte is of special importance studying element availability and mobility in the laboratory. The determination of the background solution composition can be done with the equilibrium soil solution method ESS (Matschonat and Vogt, 1997). The ESS method is a procedure to find out a salt solution of major cations and anions that does not undergo changes in its composition when brought into contact with a specific soil sample. This composition is experimentally approximated in an iterative procedure until certain quality criteria are fulfilled. We tested if the ESS method, which was developed for forest soils, can successfully be applied also to agricultural soils. The solution composition was confirmed by an independent method. We used samples of a glasshouse and an arable loess soil. Because the ESS method is relatively time and work consuming, we tested modifications which should simplify the procedure: the use of dried and frozen samples instead of field fresh soil, an approximation according to the solution's electric conductivity only, and the modeling of cation exchange to omit iteration steps. The ESS method caused slight overestimation (10–25 %) in cation concentrations, but in general, these were well met. Individual anion concentrations, however, were not buffered in this soil and could not unequivocally be determined. We recommend to adjust the anion concentrations in the ESS procedure according to their proportions in an initial water extract. As ion concentrations are functions of the soil : solution ratio, any method based on addition of water to the soil, like the so‐called soil saturation extract (Germany: Bodensättigungsextrakt), runs a risk to seriously underestimate ion concentrations at field conditions. The ESS method may therefore be especially well suited for soils with a low water content. The use of frozen soil gave good results and the omission of iteration steps by cation exchange modeling was promising and will be explored with the aim to operationalize it in forthcoming work.     

基于SRTM数据的中国1:100万SOTER地形体的构建

集土壤与地形数据于一体的 SOTER 数据库,较单一的土壤或地形数据库包含有更多的信息,这能够为日益锐化的人口与自然资源之间的矛盾的解决提供更有力的数据支持.而全国尺度 SOTER 数据库的建立将能够从国家尺度为该矛盾的解决提供更多的支撑.本文利用新的数据源(SRTM)和数字土壤制图技术,定量化地构建了中国1:100万 SOTER 地形体.通过本研究发现,采用 90 m 分辨率的SRTM数据来构建1:100 万的 SOTER 地形体的结果是令人满意的,可以实现无缝接边,与传统的方法相比,更准确、更快速、更一致.同时,也提供了一个定量化构建小比例尺地形体单元的方法,为小比例尺 SOTER 数据库的建设提供方法论上的支持,对实现农业和环境资源的有效管理具有重要的作用.