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Ca/Na concentration-constrained variations of dissolved organic matter leaching from groundwater-irrigation area soil in North China Plain

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Abstract

This study investigates the quantity and quality variations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) leaching from the soil in groundwater irrigation area of the North China Plain, constrained by the concentration of Ca/Na. Soil samples with dominant humic-like (HLC) and protein-like (PLC) components were paired with parallel concentration gradients of Ca/Na extractants for equilibrium experiments. Fluorescence-PARAFAC, UV–visible spectroscopy, and multiple statistical analyses were combined for data analysis and interpretation. The results reveal that the primary DOM components remained dominant for specific soil sample, with a higher relative abundance of PLC (HLC) in Ca (Na) extract. HLC preferentially binds to soil phase in all extractions, while PLC is readily released into the solution. However, Ca inhibits HLC desorption and promotes PLC release more significantly than Na, as indicated by stronger ion/proton reaction (IPR) and electrostatic effect (ESE). The strongest IPR and ESE are seen in the HLC-dominated DOM extracted with Ca, suggesting a condition where Ca bridges to HLC and forms total dissolved organic carbon (DOC) that decreases. In contrast, Na extraction exhibits only a weaker ESE that is offset by soil-contained HLC and exchangeable Ca, resulting in subtle DOC decrease. The trends in leaching of HLC and PLC are self-dependent, and the level of variation in either component correlates with the increasing concentration of specific cations present. These findings underscore the crucial role of soil organic matter (SOM) composition and its interaction with leaching cations in soil management in large-scale groundwater irrigation areas, where SOM quality and groundwater chemistry vary.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Scientific Research Fund of Yangtze University for Doctoral Talents (8021003102), the Fundamental Research Funds of Chinese Academy of Geological Science (SK202103), and the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (D2018504005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry and Environment & School of Resources and Environment, Yangtze University, Wuhan, 430100, China

    Shuangbing Huang, Chenfei Xuan, Zunbin Xie & Yang Jiang

  2. Key Laboratory of Groundwater Remediation of Hebei Province and China Geological Survey, Shijiazhuang, 050061, China

    Yong Qian & Shenghua Liu

  3. Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050061, China

    Yong Qian & Shenghua Liu

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  1. Shuangbing Huang
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  2. Chenfei Xuan
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Contributions

Shuangbing Huang: conceptualization, methodology, software, writing—review and editing. Chenfei Xuan: data curation, writing—original draft preparation, formal analysis. Yong Qian: resources. Zhunbing Xie: validation. Yang Jiang: supervision. Shenghua Liu: investigation.

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Huang, S., Xuan, C., Qian, Y. et al. Ca/Na concentration-constrained variations of dissolved organic matter leaching from groundwater-irrigation area soil in North China Plain. Environ Monit Assess 195, 1213 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11839-w

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