The effect of pH on the total and free ionic concentrations of mnganese, zinc and cobalt in soil solutions

Samples of five soils whose pH in the field had been adjusted to between 5.0 and 7.5 were incubated with water or 0.01 m CaCl₂ at 90% field capacity. Additional samples of the most acid soil were limed to various pH values immediately before incubation. Manganese, zinc and cobalt concentrations in the soil solutions, collected by displacement, decreased as the pH increased; the concentrations in calcium chloride solutions were higher than those in water solutions. The free divalent ions Mn²+, Zn²+ and Co²+ were the major metal species in solution at pH 5 but the proportion of the metals present as the free ion decreased as the pH increased. Differences in the manganese and zinc concentrations in the solutions were due not only to the pH of these solutions but also to the original pH of the soil in the field.