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.     

Enzyme activities in hill land soils of the Appalachian region

Abstract

The top two horizons of 14 major hill land soils of the Appalachian Region were evaluated for activities of add phospha‐tase (AP), pyrophosphatase (PP1), arylsuifatase (AS) and urease (UR) enzymes. A relationship between enzyme activities and soil properties was examined. Surface horizons contained higher enzyme activities than the subsurface horizons. Overall, enzyme activities were positively correlated with soil moisture content, percent water‐filled porosity, C, N, K, Mn and CEC. Activities of AP and PP1 were negatively correlated with soil pH. The AP and UR activities were positively related to various forms of P. Enzyme activities were positively related to total and organic S. Pot trial was performed 1n green house conditions to evaluate the relationship between enzyme activities and snapbean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) growth and N, P, and S uptake. With a few exceptions, activities of AP, AS and UR were positively related to snapbean shoot wt. and shoot content of N, P, and S. The PP1 activities of subsurface horizons were positively related to shoot wt. and mineral content. Enzyme activities varied from one soil horizon to another. The effects of various soil properties and their interacting factors on activities of the four enzyme systems are discussed.     

Revegetation and Soil Management Effects on Chemical Properties of a Saprolite Resulting from Deep Soil Removal

During the building of a hydroelectrical power plant at Ilha Solteira in the Parana River (Brazil), materials of a highly weathered soil Oxisol were extracted from a depth between 5 and 8 m for engineering works. This resulted in an abandoned depression area. The topsoil was not salvaged and the open pit was not backfilled, and as result vegetation hardly or not at all recovered. On the residual saprolite materials, an experimental field was established to assess different soil rehabilitation treatments. Field experiments were initiated in 1992. After soil tillage, two different crops and three different liming strategies were compared, giving six combinations. In addition, two uncropped control treatments, tilled and no-tilled, were established so that a total of eight treatments were assessed. The experimental design consisted of four randomized experimental blocks, which included a total of 32 plots with a plot area of 100 m². This experiment was used to study the effectiveness of the soil-reclamation treatments after a 9-year period. Soil samples were taken at three different depths (0–10, 10–20, and 20–40 cm), and they were analyzed routinely for pH, organic-matter content, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Revegetation of the abandoned saprolite material increased soil organic-matter content and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and to some extent small differences between treatments were evidenced. Exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) recovered faster than organic-matter content. A significant linear relationship was found between organic-matter content and CEC, suggesting continued addition of organic material will further approach the value of these parameters to those levels corresponding to natural soils under “Cerrado” vegetation.     

四川盆地西缘土壤阳离子交换量的特征及影响因素

土壤阳离子交换量(CEC)因其对土壤肥力保护及污染评估具有重要意义而受到日益重视。对四川盆地西缘黄壤、黄棕壤、水稻土、紫色土、潮土和石灰土CEC进行系统比较及影响因素研究,结果表明:黄壤、水稻土和紫色土CEC显著低于黄棕壤(P0.05),显著高于潮土(P0.05)。同时,土壤CEC与年均温、积温呈负相关关系(P0.01),而与年均降水量和湿润指数呈二次函数关系(P0.01);山地土壤的CEC显著高于平原和丘陵土壤(P0.05),且土壤CEC随海拔增加而极显著上升(P0.01);冰碛物发育土壤的CEC显著高于河流冲积物和紫色粉砂岩发育土壤(P0.05)。主成分分析结果表明,温度和降水组成的气候因素为该区土壤CEC的决定性影响因素。     

改良剂对滴灌棉田镉分布及迁移特征的影响

通过田间桶栽试验研究了高浓度镉(40mg/kg)条件下,4种改良剂(有机—无机复合稳定剂、无机高分子复配材料、聚丙烯酸盐复配材料、有机高分子复配材料)对棉田土壤剖面中土壤pH、阳离子交换量(CEC)、镉含量及其形态分布迁移的影响。结果表明:(1)4种改良剂均显著提高了棉田土壤剖面各层的pH和CEC,无机高分子复配材料在0—20cm土层效果最好,分别增加了0.43个单位和4.43cmol/kg;(2)改良剂促进土壤可交换态镉向其余4种形态的转化,相关分析表明碳酸盐结合态与可交换态镉含量呈极显著负相关(P0.01),在0—20cm和20—40cm土层中效果尤为突出,以无机高分子复配材料对土壤可交换态镉的降低效果最好,降低了3.61mg/kg;(3)各土层中的pH和CEC均与可交换态镉呈负相关,与其他形态呈正相关。即改良剂通过改变土壤pH和CEC,影响土壤镉的分布及迁移,从而降低镉的有效性,达到改善土壤环境的目的。     

长期定位施肥对潮土分形维数的影响

应用土壤颗粒的质量分布特征来描述其分形维数的大小,研究了长期施肥对分形维数的影响,并分析了分形维数发生变化的原因。结果表明:施肥改变了土壤颗粒的分形维数,其中施高量有机肥能显著增加土壤颗粒的分形维数,而且分形维数的变化与粘粒含量的变化,有机质含量的变化和阳离子交换量(CEC)的变化都呈现极显著的正相关性,说明施肥对土壤的主要性状产生了影响。这可能是由于施肥使粘粒含量等土壤的基本理化性状或者粘土矿物组成发生了变化,才导致了分形维数的变化。