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Pedogenesis and nickel biogeochemistry in a typical Albanian ultramafic toposequence

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This study aimed at relating the variability of Ni biogeochemistry along the ultramafic toposequence to pedogenesis and soil mineralogy. Hypereutric Cambisols dominate upslope; Cambic Vertisols and Fluvic Cambisols occur downslope. The soil mineralogy showed abundance of primary serpentine all over the sequence. It is predominant upslope but secondary smectites dominate in the Vertisols. Free Fe-oxides are abundant in all soils but slightly more abundant in the upslope soils. Whereas serpentines hold Ni in a similar and restricted range in every soil (approx. 0.3 %), Ni contents in smectites may vary a lot and Mg-rich and Al-poor smectites in the Vertisol could hold up to 4.9 % Ni. Ni was probably adsorbed onto amorphous Fe-oxides and was also exchangeable in secondary smectites. High availability of Ni in soils was confirmed by DTPA extractions. However, it varied significantly along the toposequence, being higher in upslope soils, where Ni-bearing amorphous Fe-oxides were abundant and total organic carbon higher and sensibly lower downslope on the Vertisols: NiDTPA varied from 285 mg kg−1 in the surface of soil I (upslope) to 95.9 mg kg−1 in the surface of Fluvic Cambisols. Concentration of Ni in Alyssum murale shoots varied from 0.7 % (Hypereutric Cambisols) to 1.4 % (Hypereutric Vertisol). Amazingly, Ni uptake by A. murale was not correlated to NiDTPA, suggesting the existence of specific edaphic conditions that affect the ecophysiology of A. murale upslope.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the French Embassy in Tirana who provided a grant to Prof. Aida Bani for her PhD and by the French National Research Agency through the national “Investissements d’avenir” programme, reference ANR-10-LABX-21 (LABEX RESSOURCES21).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agro-Environmental Department, Faculty of Agronomy and Environment, Agricultural University of Tirana, Koder-Kamez, Albania

    Aida Bani, Fran Gjoka & Sulejman Sulçe

  2. Laboratoire Sols et Environnement, Université de Lorraine, 2 avenue de la Forêt de Haye, TSA 40602, 54518, Vandœuvre lès Nancy, France

    Aida Bani, Guillaume Echevarria & Jean Louis Morel

  3. Laboratoire Sols et Environnement, UMR INRA 1120, TSA 40602, 54518, Vandœuvre lès Nancy, France

    Aida Bani, Guillaume Echevarria & Jean Louis Morel

  4. Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux, Université de Lorraine-CNRS, 15 Avenue du Charmois, 54501, Vandœuvre lès Nancy, France

    Emmanuelle Montargès-Pelletier

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  1. Aida Bani
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  2. Guillaume Echevarria
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Correspondence to Guillaume Echevarria.

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Bani, A., Echevarria, G., Montargès-Pelletier, E. et al. Pedogenesis and nickel biogeochemistry in a typical Albanian ultramafic toposequence. Environ Monit Assess 186, 4431–4442 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3709-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3709-6

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