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The forms and distribution of aluminum adsorbed onto maize and soybean roots

  • SOILS, SEC 1 • SOIL ORGANIC MATTER DYNAMICS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING • RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Abstract

Purpose

The Al forms on maize and soybean roots were investigated to determine the main factors affecting the distribution of Al forms and its relationship with Al plant toxicity.

Materials and methods

Solution culture experiments were conducted to obtain the fresh roots of maize and soybean. KNO3, citric acid, and HCl were used to extract the exchangeable, complexed, and precipitated forms of Al on the roots.

Results and discussion

The complexed Al was higher than the exchangeable and precipitated Al. Root CECs of soybean and maize were 77 and 55 cmol kg−1, and functional groups on the soybean roots (262.4 cmol kg−1) were greater than on maize roots (210.8 cmol kg−1), which resulted in more exchangeable and complexed Al on soybean roots than on maize roots, and was one of the reasons for the increased Al toxicity to soybean. The total and exchangeable Al were the highest on the plant root tips and decreased gradually with increasing distance from the tips. Ca2+, Mg2+, and NH4 + cations reduced the exchangeable Al on the roots. Oxalate and malate also reduced the adsorption and absorption of Al by roots, and the effect of oxalate was greater than malate.

Conclusions

Higher exchangeable and complexed Al on plant roots led to increased Al plant toxicity. Ca2+, Mg2+, and NH4 + and oxalate and malate can effectively alleviate Al plant toxicity.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41230855) and the Knowledge Innovation Program Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-EW-405).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 821, Nanjing, China

    Yuan Liu & Ren-kou Xu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yuan Liu

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  1. Yuan Liu
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  2. Ren-kou Xu
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Correspondence to Ren-kou Xu.

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Responsible editor: Caixian Tang

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Liu, Y., Xu, Rk. The forms and distribution of aluminum adsorbed onto maize and soybean roots. J Soils Sediments 15, 491–502 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-1026-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-1026-x

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