Factors affecting the three-dimensional distribution of exogenous zinc in a sandy Luvisol subjected to intensive irrigation with raw wastewaters

Massive volumes of raw wastewater have been spread on sandy Luvisols in the Paris region since 1899, causing major soil contamination with metallic trace elements (MTE). To identify the factors influencing the vertical and horizontal redistribution of MTE at the plot scale, a study was carried out of the three‐dimensional distribution of zinc. The background and exogenous fractions of zinc in the contaminated soil were discriminated using correlations between zinc and iron defined from unpolluted soils of the area. At the surface, the spatial distribution of zinc is determined by the geometry of the irrigation system and the terrain topography. The highest concentrations are observed near the irrigation outlets and in areas of very slight slope. The exogenous zinc has migrated down to the base of the studied solums (1 m depth), and its subsurface distribution depends upon the physico‐chemical properties of the horizons. In the E horizon, the trapping of exogenous zinc is governed by the number of available reactive sites, whereas in the Bt horizon it is a function of the vertical and lateral behaviour of the drainage. Moreover, lateral transfer of exogenous zinc occurs in the C horizon. In the case of soil contaminated with raw wastewater, the organization of water flow on the surface and in the subsurface is a determining factor in the redistribution of zinc within a plot.     

Characterizing the soil moisture regime of a Typic Haplohumod

The saturated hydraulic conductivities (K_sat) of 22 spodic horizons with and without a thin iron pan, were measured in situ with a new technique, using large, carved-out columns, encased in gypsum. Measured infiltration rates and pressure heads above and below the spodic horizons allowed calculation of K_sat, which averaged 8 cm d^?1. Flow rates averaged 32 cm d^?1, however, due to a hydraulic head gradient across the spodic horizon of 4 cm cm^?1. Occurrence of a thin iron pan in the spodic horizon did not affect its K_sat-value. The measured high flow rates exclude the occurrence of perched watertables. Lateral flow of water, forming surface ponds in local depressions, was due to surface runoff, rather than to lateral movement of perched water: surface ponding of water occurred also in soils in which the spodic horizon had been mixed by tillage.     

Impacts of long‐term waste‐water irrigation on the development of sandy Luvisols: consequences for metal pollutant distributions

Studies relating macro‐ and microscopic aspects of impacts of long‐term contaminative practices on soils are scarce. We performed such an approach by assessing the fate of metal pollutants in an area close to Paris, where sandy Luvisols were irrigated for 100 years with urban waste water. As a result, these soils display strong accumulation of organic matter, dissolved salts and metal pollutants in surface horizons, but also migration of metals to depth. We examined soil development and metal distribution patterns in two irrigated soils, in comparison with a non‐irrigated reference soil. Soil macromorphological characteristics were studied in the field. Soil micromorphology and micro‐scale metal distributions were both studied in situ in thin sections, the latter by synchrotron X‐ray mapping. Microscopic study focussed on characteristic parts of the Ap and Bt horizons, mainly involved in metal retention. For Ap horizons, both large and diffuse metal concentrations were revealed, mainly associated with organic matter and dissolved components added by irrigation water. For Bt horizons, zinc accumulation was detected on clay‐iron coatings. Our results suggest that with time, a double metal‐filtering capacity has developed in these sandy Luvisols: in the Ap horizon, an anthropogenic filter resulted from input of metal pollutants together with highly reactive organic matter, carbonates and phosphates, thus favouring metal immobilization and limiting migration to depth. In the Bt horizon, the evidence is of a second, natural filter. However, this filtering capacity is endangered by clay destruction due to ferrolysis, as revealed by micromorphology. Ferrolysis, here initiated by intensive irrigation practices, leads to a reduction of the natural filtering potential and an increasing risk of metal transfer towards the groundwater.     

Light Gray Surface-Gleyed Loamy Sandy Soils of the Northern Part of Tambov Plain: Agroecology,Properties, and Diagnostics

Light gray soils of Tambov oblast mainly develop from sandy and loamy sandy parent materials; these are the least studied soils in this region. Despite their coarse texture, these soils are subjected to surface waterlogging. They are stronger affected by the agrogenic degradation in comparison with chernozems and dark gray soils. Morphology, major elements of water regime, physical properties, and productivity of loamy sandy light gray soils with different degrees of gleyzation have been studied in the northern part of Tambov Plain in order to substantiate the appropriate methods of their management. The texture of these soils changes at the depth of 70–100 cm. The upper part is enriched in silt particles (16–30%); in the lower part, the sand content reaches 80–85%. In the nongleyed variants, middle-profile horizons contain thin iron-cemented lamellae (pseudofibers); in surface-gleyed variants, iron nodules are present in the humus horizon. The removal of clay from the humus horizon and its accumulation at the lithological contact and in pseudofibers promote surface subsidence and formation of microlows in the years with moderate and intense winter precipitation. The low range of active moisture favors desiccation of the upper horizons to the wilting point in dry years. The yield of cereal crops reaches 3.5–4.5 t/ha in the years with high and moderate summer precipitation on nongleyed and slightly gleyed light gray soils and decreases by 20–50% on strongly gleyed light gray soils. On light gray soils without irrigation, crop yields are unstable, and productivity of pastures is low. High yields of cereals and vegetables can be obtained on irrigated soils. In this case, local drainage measures should be applied to microlows; liming can be recommended to improve soil productivity.     

Influence of cattle trampling on preferential flow paths in alkaline soils

Abstract. Preferential flow paths (PFP) are important in water and solute movement through soils, especially in regions where vertical water movements predominate, such as the flooding Pampa (Argentina). The impact of grazing on PFP and its interactions with other properties were studied in three soils with natric horizons in the flooding Pampa using an iodide colouring technique. In the soil with a mollic horizon (Typic Natraquoll), % PFP was decreased by trampling but was later restored by shrink-swell. In the Typic Natraqualf, the most alkaline of the studied soils, % PFP was very small under both grazed and ungrazed conditions. In a coarser textured soil (Mollic Natraqualf) trampling did not affect % PFP. The % PFP of the Ah horizons increased with increasing organic carbon and sand contents and decreased as clay content, pH and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) increased. The Bt horizons had small % PFPs and were not affected by cattle trampling.     

Saturated hydraulic conductivity of soils in the Southern Piedmont of Georgia,USA: Field evaluation and relation to horizon and landscape properties

Saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) is one of the soil properties used most often to predict soil behavior and suitability for a variety of uses. Because of the difficulty in K_s measurement and its variability with depth and across the landscape, K_s is commonly predicted from other more easily evaluated properties including texture, clay mineralogy, bulk density, pedogenic structure and cementation. Of these, texture and pedogenic structure are most commonly used to estimate K_s, but the reliability of these estimates has not been evaluated for common soils in the Southern Piedmont of Georgia. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate K_s for major horizons in soils and landscapes in the Georgia Piedmont and to relate K_s to morphological properties of these horizons. Ten sites across the region were selected, and 21 pedons arranged in three transects were described from auger holes and pits. For each pedon, K_s was measured in upper Bt horizons, at 140 cm below the surface (Bt, BC, or C horizon), and at a depth intermediate between the shallow and deep measurements (Bt, BC, or C horizon) with a constant head permeameter. The K_s of individual horizons ranged from 1 × 10^− 8 to 2 × 10^− 5 m s^− 1. At six of 10 sites evaluated, clayey upper Bt horizons had higher K_s than deeper horizons with less clay. This difference was attributed to weaker structure in the deeper BC horizons. Structural differences did not explain all variation in K_s with depth, however. Other soil and landscape properties including parent material composition, colluvium on lower slope positions, C horizon cementation, and depth of soil development also affected K_s of horizons in these soils and should be used to better estimate K_s.     

土壤质地和灌水器材料对负压灌溉出水流量及土壤水运移的影响

负压灌溉法是一种新近提出的节水灌溉技术,灌溉时供水水头为“负值”,即灌溉水源高程低于灌水器高程。不同材料灌水器和土壤质地是影响灌溉系统出水流量及土壤水运移的重要因素。该文研究了在高程差H为-0.5 m情况下两种灌水器及两种质地土壤对两者的影响。结果表明：灌水器相同时,累计入渗量、水平和垂直最大湿润距离随时间呈幂函数关系变化;在历时相同时黏壤土较砂壤土大;湿润体近似为六分之一的竖直椭球体,但黏壤土水平与垂直最大湿润距离之比大于砂壤土。土壤质地相同时,纤维灌水器较陶土灌水器出水流量高。试验结果进一步证明了负压灌溉的可行性,并为确定负压灌溉系统应用范围及规划设计过程中灌水器选择提供了依据。     

Pedotransfer Functions for the Estimation of Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity for Some Indian Sandy Soils

Determination of the saturated hydraulic conductivity (k_s) is needed in many studies and applications related to irrigation, drainage, water movement and solute transport in the soil. Although many advances are made for direct measurements of k_s, they are usually time consuming and costly. Some attempts have been made to indirectly predict the saturated hydraulic conductivity from the more easily or readily available basic soil properties. The objective of this study was to develop and validate Pedotransfer Functions (PTFs) for estimation of saturated hydraulic conductivity using multiple non-linear regression technique. One hundred and one soil samples were collected from agricultural and forest soils at different depths, at different locations in the Pavanje River basin that lies in the southern coastal region of Karnataka, India. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was measured, by variable falling head method through Permeameter in the laboratory. Prediction accuracies were evaluated using coefficient of determination, root mean square error, mean error, geometric mean error ratio and geometric standard deviation of the error ratio between measured and predicted values. The results show that, the PTFs for the estimation of saturated hydraulic conductivity could be used appropriately for the soils with loamy sand and sandy loam textures falling in this area of the coastal region of southern India.     

The influence of topography on the development of Alfisols on calcareous clayey till in Denmark

A detailed macro- and micro-morphological study of seven closely-adjacent soil profiles on calcareous clay tills in a long-established beech wood in central Denmark, shows that depth of decalcification, thickness of textural B horizon, development of umbric epipedons and development of albic sub-horizons are all related to slope inclination, slope form and to relative situation in the slope complex.The soils may be classified within four subgroups of Alfisols, while one is a Mollisol. The MAST of 8°C poses problems of typification at suborder level between frigid and mesic classes.Development of clay skins and of glaebules and concretions as indicators of the redeposition of mobilised components, are present to greater extent in stable slope situations; with least lateral subsoil water movement. Development of albic horizons is related to greater lateral water movement.Development of cutanic features by argilluviation - argillans - do not exclude features formed by redeposition of carbonates - calcitans. Soil plasmic fabrics with both features are termed calcisepic fabrics and prove deposition of clay and carbonates in the same soil horizons, usually the lower B and C(g) horizons.Morphologically the dark epipedons show intense humification and many fecal pellets because of the undisturbed and high plant productivity and intense biotic activity. The micromorphology is one of isotic argillasepic plasmic fabrics. The argillic horizons are dominantly insepic or vosepic, while the calcareous C horizons are either argillasepic, or calci-vosepic or calcisepic. It is possible that some of the carbonate reprecipitation post-dates the argilluviation, the carbonates derived during secondary dissolution in the suprajacent horizons.     

Some features of technogenic soil layers and horizons in the zones of underground gas storages

Technogenic soils in underground gas storage areas are formed under the combined impact of natural and technogenic soil-forming factors (pipelining, gas well drilling and exploitation). New layers and horizons appear in the soil profiles. Technogenic layers (drilling technogenic layer (TSd), a chemically polluted loamy layer formed during the period of gas well drilling and exploitation; technogenic layer (TS^..), a periodically restoring chemically polluted sandy layer formed during the period of gas well exploitation); technogenic horizons (mixed drilling horizon (TURd), a natural-technogenic horizon formed during the drilling period because of mixing of natural soil material); and modification horizons (mixed organic horizon (TURAY), an organic horizon formed by soil restoration or organic matter transformation), were distinguished.     

Parent material influence on soil distribution and genesis in a Paleudult and Kandiudult complex,southeastern USA

Parent materials greatly influence soil development and the distribution of soils on the southeastern US Coastal Plain. We examined the physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of 11 pedons in a 1-ha plot on the Upper Coastal Plain of Georgia, USA. Uniformity of parent materials was assessed by sand grain size characteristics. The soils have sandy epipedons of variable thickness and argillic horizons of variable texture. Six of the pedons also have kandic horizons. They are classified (US Soil Taxonomy) in Psammentic, Grossarenic, Arenic, and Typic subgroups of Paleudults and Kandiudults. Loamy pedons possess argillic horizons with two distinct increases in clay and greater differences between eluvial and illuvial horizons than sandy pedons. The upper boundary of the argillic horizon is approximately parallel to the present geomorphic surface, suggesting that it is associated with the contemporary surface. Discontinuities, identified by changes in sand grain size ratios and plots of the third (skewness) and fourth (kurtosis) moments of sand grain distribution, roughly correspond to the bottom of the solum. Our data suggest that there are both eolian and fluvial components in the solum, whereas subjacent horizons are completely derived from fluvial deposits. Sandier pedons have greater gibbsite/kaolinite ratios, possibly because greater permeability has enhanced leaching and Si loss. Our data suggest parent materials largely control soil distribution over this plot.     

EXTRACTABLE SESQUIOXIDES IN SIX MEDITERRANEAN SOILS DEVELOPED ON BASALT AND SCORIA

Iron, Al, and Mn were extracted by oxalate and dithionite from two Brown Mediterranean Soils, two Red Mediterranean Soils, one Vertisol and one Gley soil, all derived from basalt or scoria in the sub-humid and humid Mediterranean regions of the Golan Heights. Ratios of oxalate: dithionite extracted iron (Fe_o:Fe_d) were low in all soils, indicating that the predominant form of free iron is crystalline. Fe_o accumulates in the argillic B horizons of the Mediterranean soils, while Fe_d accumulates in the surface horizons. A large part of the free iron oxide in the surface horizons of Mediterranean soils is associated with non-clay fractions. While manganese behaves in a manner somewhat similar to that of iron, no definite trends could be discerned in the vertical distribution of free aluminium. In the Vertisol, Fe_o and Mn_o accumulate in the subsoil. Fe_d and Mn_d increase slightly with soil depth. In the Gley soil, amorphous iron accumulates in the surface horizon, total free iron in the bottom horizon. Both amorphous and total free Mn had been depleted from the upper horizons of the Gley soil.     

Study of a toposequence for variability in micronutrients from the moist subhumid Siwalik agro-ecological subregion of Punjab

A toposequence from the moist subhumid Siwalik agro-ecological subregion ofPunjab was studied for available and total micronutrient variability. The toposequence showed the least developed soils with only an A–C horizon sequence on steep slopes and a well-developed profile with an argillic horizon on moderate slopes. The soils consist of a variety of minerals and thus belong to the mixed mineralogy class. There were higher levels of DTPA-extractable micronutrients in the surface horizon than in the subsurface horizon due to their association with organic matter through chelation and adsorption. The surface horizons have relatively lower total micronutrient contents than the subsoil horizons. Soils from moderate slopes and lower terraces showed higher total micronutrients contents in the middle horizons, suggesting some redistribution of the constituents due to the illuviation process of pedogenesis. DTPA-extractable and total micronutrients showed an irregular increasing trend from the steep slope to the lower terrace soils. The DTPA-extractable micronutrients showed relatively greater variability (8–107%) than the corresponding total micronutrient contents (2–34%), suggesting the relatively dynamic nature of the former. Variability in DTPA-extractable and total micronutrients within and among the different soils was caused by several processes involved in the differentiation ofmicronutrients. DTPA-extractable micronutrients show the influence of organic matter through the processes of chelation and adsorption, whereas total micronutrients varied due to differences in pedogenic processes of eluviation/ illuvial on different landscapes and textural variation.     

三江平原白浆土发生学特性

本文对三江平原三个典型白浆土剖面的理化性质、土壤微形态和矿物学性质的研究，探讨了白浆土的发生学特性。土体中Ｚｒ／Ｓｒ和Ｔｉ／Ｚｒ比率的变异系数表明，所研究的土壤剖面其成土母质岩性是连续的。典型白浆土具有一个松软的表土层、一个漂白层和一个相当厚的粘化淀积层。研究还表明，粘粒的悬浮迁移是白浆土的主要成土过程。表层和白浆层在成土过程中有Ｆｅ－Ｍｎ结核形成，且是原地形成的，其Ｆｅ、Ｍｎ明显源于原生矿物的风     

Linking fragipans,perched water tables,and catchment-scale hydrological processes

Soils with very slowly permeable fragipans and fragipan-like argillic horizons are extensive throughout the Palouse Region of northern Idaho and eastern Washington, USA. These soils develop seasonal perched water tables (PWTs) under the xeric moisture regime of the region. The objective of this study was to utilize a hydropedology approach to examine the linkages between fragipans, PWTs, and catchment-scale hydrological processes such as soil water storage, runoff, and lateral throughflow. A 1.7-ha catchment dominated by Fragixeralfs (Fragic Luvisols) was instrumented with 135 automated shallow wells to monitor PWTs. Soil water content was measured with water content reflectometry probes, and catchment outflow was measured with a flume. A 35 m × 18 m plot was isolated hydrologically from the surrounding hillslope using tile drains and plastic sheeting to measure perched water outflow. Results show that during the wet winter and spring months, the transition from unsaturated to saturated conditions is accompanied by changes in volumetric water storage of only 4–5%. PWT levels are at the surface of ∼ 26–45% of the catchment soils during periods of high rainfall and snowmelt, thereby generating saturation-excess surface runoff from hillslopes. Observed solute movement via subsurface flow is very rapid and ranges between 2.9 and 18.7 m d^− 1 when PWTs are maintained in more-permeable Ap and Bw horizons. Subsurface lateral flow accounts for as much as 90% of the incident precipitation and snowmelt during early spring. Data indicate that the relatively shallow depth to the fragipans and high K_sat in surface soil layers combine to create a very flashy hydrological system characterized by considerable temporal and spatial variation in patterns of saturation-excess runoff.     

Genesis and classification position of automorphic soils developed from mantle loams in the northern taiga of European Russia

Automorphic loamy soils of the northern taiga and forest-tundra zones in the northeastern part of European Russia are characterized. These soils are diagnosed by the presence of a paragenetic system of the podzolic (often, with gley features) and iron-illuvial horizons combined with a specific cryometamorphic CRM horizon. The podzolic horizon is considerably impoverished in the total and oxalate-extractable iron and slightly impoverished in aluminum and clay in comparison with the iron-illuvial horizon. A distinctive feature of the cryometamorphic horizon is its fine angular blocky, ooidal, or granulated structure in the dry state and curdled cryogenic structure in the wet state. The soil profile is relatively weakly differentiated with respect to the contents of clay and sesquioxides. The genesis of these soils is related to a combination of the gley-Al-Fe-humus mobilization, migration, and illuvial accumulation of substances and the cryogenic structuring. According to the new Classification and Diagnostic System of Russian Soils, these soils fit the criteria of iron-illuvial svetlozems in the order of cryometamorphic soils. In the studied area, these soils are found together with texture-differentiated gley-podzolic soils having the Bt horizon and belonging to the order of texture-differentiated soils.     

Soil structural indices' dependence on irrigation water quality and their association with chromophoric components in dissolved organic matter

Irrigation with treated wastewater (TWW) may affect soil structure and stability and the characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) of the soil solution. The objectives of our study were (i) to evaluate the impact of TWW irrigation, as compared with fresh water (FW) irrigation, on aggregate stability and saturated hydraulic conductivity (indices of soil structure stability) and (ii) to determine whether these indices can be associated with the chromophoric indicators of water‐extractable DOM in TWW‐ and FW‐irrigated soils. We studied aggregate stability and soil hydraulic conductivity (HC) of four different soil types irrigated with either TWW (for at least 5 years) or FW. The results were linked to earlier published data on the concentration scores of fluorescent chromophoric DOM components (obtained from excitation‐emission matrices of flouorescence coupled with parallel factor analysis), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and absorbance at 254 nm (Abs254). These were all obtained from water extracts of the same soils as those used in the current study. Irrigation with TWW decreased aggregate stability, in comparison to irrigation with FW, in the sandy clay and clay soils, while in the loamy sand TWW increased aggregate stability. The apparent steady state HCs in the TWW‐irrigated samples in the loamy sand, sandy clay and clay soils were similar to, or significantly less than, those obtained in the FW‐irrigated samples. In the sandy loam the opposite trend was noted. Results of principal component and classification analyses showed that the aggregate stability indices were directly associated with soil organic matter and DOM attributes in the coarse‐textured soils, while in the fine‐textured soils inverse associations were noted. Only in the fine‐textured soils were the HC attributes associated (directly) with some of the DOM characteristics. Our results suggest that structural indices of fine‐textured soils are more sensitive than those of coarse‐textured soils to the composition of water extractable DOM.     

Effects of agricultural practices on hydraulic properties and water movement in soils in Brittany (France)

The intensive agricultural use of soils in the Brittany region (western France) has increased the need for a better understanding of soil water dynamics. The aim of the present study is to compare quantitatively the differences produced by two agricultural practices on soil hydraulic properties (water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity) as well as the infiltration and drainage fluxes in the soils. This study was carried out on two experimental plots managed in the same way for 22 years. The two practices were continuous maize fertilized with mineral fertilizer, denoted as MX, and pasture within a ray-grass/maize rotation (3/1 year) with organic fertilization (pig slurry), denoted as PR. The study consisted of measuring soil physical properties in the laboratory and in the field, and estimating water infiltration in the soil of the two plots by recording water pressure heads after simulation of 2-h artificial rainfall with an intensity of 17 mm/h. We applied the van Genuchten model to describe the water retention and hydraulic conductivity curves (θ(h) and K(h)) for each soil horizon of the two plots. Hydrus-2D and ID softwares were used to construct a numerical model of water movement in the two soils. This model was used to quantify the infiltration rate, deep drainage and actual evaporation fluxes during the artificial rainfall experiment.The vertical influence of agricultural practices in both plots appears to be limited to the uppermost 35 cm. Deeper in the B horizon, there are only very slight differences in the hydraulic properties between the two plots. In the top soil horizons (H1–H5 and H6), the two soil properties mostly affected by practices are the hydraulic conductivity and the α parameter of the van Genuchten model. At the lowest pressure head studied here (−1.5 kPa), hydraulic conductivity in a given horizon differs by more than one order of magnitude between the two plots. The model reproduces quite satisfactorily the observed pressure heads in plot PR at all depths, in the rainy period as well as in the water redistribution period (efficiency >0.77). Results are less good for the MX plot, with efficiency ranging from 0.49 to 0.84 depending on the horizon. The different sources of simulation errors are identified and discussed. For the MX plot, the soil water movement model succeeds in reproducing the infiltration excess runoff observed in the field, allowing us to calculate that it accounts for 9% of the applied rainfall. No surface runoff or ponding appears in the PR plot during the artificial rainfall experiment. In the PR plot, the simulated deep drainage flux increases more rapidly than in the MX plot. The lower hydraulic conductivity in the top soil horizon of the MX plot compared with the PR plot appears to reduce the infiltration rate as well as the deep drainage flux. It also decreases the upward flow of water to the soil surface when the water content in the top soil layer is depleted by evaporation flux. The model simulation could be improved by a more precise representation of the soil structure, particularly the location, size and frequency of clods as well as the variability of hydraulic properties. However, we need to strike a balance between improving the quality of the simulation even further and the practical constraints and efforts involved in measuring the soil hydraulic properties.     

喷灌强度对滨海盐碱地土壤水盐运移特征的影响

为研究一维条件下喷灌强度对滨海盐碱地土壤湿润峰运移、水分再分布特征及盐分淋洗的影响,选用滨海盐碱地黏质重度盐碱土和砂质重度盐碱土2种土壤,设置5个喷灌强度(分别是1.72、3.13、5.27、8.75、10.11mm/h),进行室内喷灌条件下土柱模拟试验。结果表明,喷灌强度与土壤黏粒含量显著影响湿润锋运移。湿润锋推进速度随着喷灌强度增加而增大,而湿润深度随之减小,且土壤黏粒含量越高,越不利于湿润锋运移;随着土壤水分再分布过程的推进,黏质重度盐碱土在3.13mm/h喷灌强度下同一深度体积含水率较其他处理大,砂质重度盐碱土在1.72mm/h喷灌强度条件下土柱具有较高的保水性;采用喷灌淋洗,可使上层土壤脱盐,盐分均累积至下层土壤,并使其急剧增加且达到最大值。对于黏质重度盐碱土,3.13mm/h喷灌强度下,盐分淋洗效果较好,而对于砂质重度盐碱土,8.75mm/h喷灌强度淋洗效果优于其他处理。该研究可为喷灌技术合理和可持续开发利用滨海盐碱地提供参考。     

Acidity Changes of Foreign Acidic Soils Introduced into Calcareous Soil Environment

Abstract

Many tropical plant species originated in areas with acidic soils and do not grow well in calcareous (high pH) soils. It is impossible to acidify soils that have high contents of calcium carbonate in south Florida. Replacing calcareous soils with acidic soils obtained from distant regions is an alternative. Unfortunately, such introduced acidic soils may eventually be neutralized by irrigation and ground water that is saturated with calcium carbonate. The objective of this investigation was to examine the acidity changes and buffering capacities of three types of acidic soils (silica sand soil, red loamy sand soil, and a mixed soil) used to establish tropical plants in a rainforest exhibition at Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami, FL. The three areas were excavated to remove native calcareous soil, limestone bedrock, and filled with acidic soils. Various rainforest plants were planted. Soil samples were collected in contiguous 10 cm‐deep segments from the soil surface to the bedrock shortly after deposition of the soils and one year later. Soil pH, EC, particle distribution, buffering capacity were determined. Results showed that both silica sand and mixed soils had been neutralized and the soil pH values had risen over 7 in all soil depths after one year. However, less than 10 cm of the surface and bottom soil layers of red loamy sand had been neutralized and the soil pH in the middle of soil profile remained unchanged due to its higher buffering capacity. A column leaching study showed that the acidity in the red loamy sand soil would be neutralized by irrigation water and by capillary movement of groundwater with a high concentration of calcium bicarbonate. Buffering curves indicate that it is easier to maintain acidity in sandy soil than of loamy sand and mixed soils with acidified irrigation water. Indeed it is difficult to acidify the mixed soils with high organic matter content after these soils have been neutralized.