Abstract
Changes in noncrystalline Fe and P sorption capacity in soils subjected to flooding and draining for rice cultivation sparked interest in how periodic flooding in natural riparian wetlands influences soil chemistry and P retention. We examined monthly changes in soil oxalate-extractable Al and Fe, NaOH-extractable Al, DCB-extractable Fe, and P sorption capacity as a function of flooding regime in artificially manipulated field mesocosms installed in a floodplain forest along the Ogeechee River, near Savannah, GA. We hypothesized that: (1) flooding would cause increases in both oxalate-extractable (noncrystalline) Al and Fe concentrations and P sorption capacity, and, (2) this effect would be augmented by increased flooding duration and periodicity. Flooding resulted in increases in oxalate-extractable Al in flooded-drained and periodically flooded soils, decreases in crystalline Fe in all flooding treatments, and an increase in P sorption capacity in flooded-drained soils. However, consistent trends were not observed across all treatment regimes. Potential confounding factors include a lack of synchronicity of experimental and natural flooding cycles, spatial variability of soil chemistry, and increased soil wetness in the treatment field, variables that should be considered in future attempts at elucidating relationships between flooding, soil chemistry and wetland function.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bache, B.W. and Williams, E.G. 1971. A phosphate sorption index for soils. J. Soil Sci. 22: 289–301.
Boero, V. and Schwertmann, U. 1989. Iron oxide mineralogy of Terra Rossa and its genetic implications. Geoderma 44: 319–327.
Brady, N.C. 1990. Nature and Properties of Soils. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York.
Brinson, M.M. 1990. Riverine forests.In: Lugo, A.E., Brinson, M.M. and Brown, S. (eds). Forested Wetlands. Volume 15. pp. 87–141: Elsevier, New York.
Cuffney, T.F. 1988. Input, movement and exchange of organic matter within a subtropical coastal blackwater river-floodplain system. Freshwater Biol. 19: 305–320.
Darke, A.K. and Walbridge, M.R. 1994. Estimating non-crystalline and crystalline aluminum and iron by selective dissolution in a riparian forest soil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 25: 2089–2101.
Day, P.R. 1965. Particle fractionation and particle size analysis.In: Black, C.A. (ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis. pp. 545–566, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.
Dynamic Microsystems, Inc. 1995. GB Stat 5.4. Silver Spring, MD
Elder, J.F. 1985. Nitrogen and phosphorus speciation and flux in a large Florida river wetland system. Water Resources Research 21: 724–732.
Faulkner, S.P. and Richardson, C.J. 1989. Physical and chemical characteristics of freshwater wetland soils.In: Hammer, D.A. (ed), Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment. pp. 41–66. Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, MI.
Gilliam, J.W. 1994. Riparian wetlands and water quality. J. Environ. Qual. 23: 896–900.
He, Z.L., Yuan, K.N., Zhu, Z.X. and Zhang, Q.Z. 1991. Assessing the fixation and availability of sorbed phosphate in soil using an isotopic exchange method. J. Soil Sci. 42: 661–669.
Hsu, P.H. 1991. Characterization of different forms of Al in Pine Barren region soils with respect to acid precipitation. Final Research Report.
Kodama, H. and Schnitzer, M. 1979. Effect of fulvic acid on the crystallization of Fe(III) oxides. Geoderma 19: 279–291.
Kodama, H. and Schnitzer, M. 1980. Effect of fulvic acid on the crystallization of aluminum hydroxides. Geoderma 24: 195–205.
Kuo, S. and Mikkelsen, D.S. 1979. Distribution of iron and phosphorus in flooded and unflooded soil profiles and their relation to phosphorus adsorption. Soil Sci. 127(1): 18–25.
Larsen, J.E., Warren, G.F. and Langston, R. 1959. Effect of iron, aluminum, and humic acid on phosphorus fixation by organic soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Proc. 23: 438–440.
Lockaby, B.G., Murphy, A.L. and Somers, G.L. 1996a. Hydroperiod effects on nutrient dynamics in decomposing litter. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 60: 1267–1272.
Lockaby, B.G., Wheat, R.S. and Clawson, R.G. 1996b. The influence of hydroperiod on conversion of litter to SOM in a floodplain forest. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 60: 1989–1993.
McKeague, J.A. and Day, J.H. 1966. Dithionite- and oxalate-extractable Fe and Al as aids in differentiating various classes of soils. Can. J. Soil Sci. 46: 13–22.
McLaughlin, J.R., Ryden, J.C. and Syers, J.K. 1981. Sorption of inorganic phosphate by iron- and aluminum-containing components. J. Soil Sci. 32: 365–377.
Mitsch, W.J. and Gosselink, J.G. 1993. Wetlands (2nd edn). Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
National Wetlands Inventory. 1988. Eden, GA quadrangle. U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
Parfitt, R.L. 1989. Phosphate reactions with natural allophane, ferrihydrite and goethite. J. Soil Sci. 40: 359–369.
Perkin-Elmer. 1982. Analytical Methods for Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Perkin-Elmer, Norwalk, CT.
Richardson, C.J. 1985. Mechanisms controlling phosphorus retention capacity in freshwater wetlands. Science 228: 1424–1427.
Richardson, C.J. 1989. Freshwater wetlands: transformers, filters, or sinks?In: Sharitz, R.R. and Gibbons, J.W. (eds), Freshwater Wetlands and Wildlife. pp. 25–46, CONF-8603101, DOE Symposium Series No. 61. US/DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Oak Ridge, TN.
Richardson, C.J., Walbridge, M.R. and Burns, A. 1988. Soil chemistry and phosphorus retention capacity of North Carolina coastal plain swamps receiving sewage effluent. Report No. 241. Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC.
Sah, R.N., Mikkelsen, D.S. and Hafez, A.A. 1989. Phosphorus behavior in flooded-drained soils. II. Iron transformation and phosphorus sorption. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 53: 1723–1729.
Schwertmann, U. 1988. Occurrence and formation of iron oxides in various pedoenvironments.In: Stucki, J.W., Goodman, B.A. and Schwertmann, U. (eds), Iron in Soils and Clay Minerals. pp. 267–308, D. Reidel Publishing Company, Boston, MA.
Schwertmann, U. and Taylor, R.M. 1989. Iron oxides.In: Dixon, J.B. and Weed, S.B. (eds), Minerals in Soil Environments. pp. 380–438, Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI.
Schwertmann, U., Schulze, D.G. and Murad, E. 1982. Identification of ferrihydrite in soils by dissolution kinetics, differential X-ray diffraction, and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46: 869–875.
Technicon. 1983. Orthophosphorus Multitest. Method Number 698-82W. Technicon Industrial Systems. Tarrytown, NY.
Thomas, M. 1992. Soil Scientist, Effingham County, GA. USDA Soil Conservation Service. Personal Communication.
USDA. 1972. Soil Survey Laboratory Methods and Procedures for Collecting Soil Samples. Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 1. U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, Washington, D.C.
Walbridge, M.R. and Lockaby, B.G. 1994. Effects of forest management on biogeochemical functions in southern forested wetlands. Wetlands 14: 10–17.
Walbridge, M.R., Richardson, C.J. and Swank, W.T. 1991. Vertical distribution of biological and geochemical phosphorus subcycles in two southern Appalachian forest soils. Biogeochemistry 213: 61–85.
Walbridge, M.R. and Struthers, J.P. 1993. Phosphorus retention in non-tidal palustrine forested wetlands of the Mid-Atlantic region. Wetlands 13: 84–94.
Wang, H.D., Harris, W.G. and Yuan, W.G. 1991. Noncrystalline phosphates in Florida phosphatic soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55: 665–669.
Willet, I.R. and Higgins, M.L. 1980. Phosphate sorption and extractable iron in soils during irrigated rice-upland crop rotations. Australian J. Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 20: 346–353.
Yarbro, L.A. 1983. The influence of hydrologic variations on phosphorus cycling and retention in a swamp stream ecosystem.In: Fontaine, T.D. and Bartell, S.M. (eds), Dynamics of Lotic Ecosystems. pp. 223–245, Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor, MI.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Darke, A.K., Walbridge, M.R. & Lockaby, B.G. Changes in Al and Fe crystallinity and P sorption capacity in a flood-plain forest soil subjected to artificially manipulated flooding regimes in field mesocosms. Wetlands Ecol Manage 4, 235–244 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02150537
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02150537