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Germanium in the soil-plant system—a review

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Abstract

Germanium (Ge) is widespread in the Earth’s crust. As a cognate element to silicon (Si), Ge shows very similar chemical characteristics. Recent use of Ge/Si to trace Si cycles and changes in weathering over time, growing demand for Ge as raw material, and consequently an increasing interest in Ge phytomining have contributed to a growing interest in this previously rather scarcely considered element in geochemical studies. This review deals with the distribution of Ge in primary minerals and surface soils as well as the factors influencing the mobility of Ge in soils including the sequestration of Ge in secondary mineral phases and soil organic matter. Furthermore, the uptake and accumulation of Ge in plants and effects of plant-soil relationships on the availability of Ge in soils and the biogeochemical cycling of Ge are discussed. The formation of secondary soil minerals and soil organic matter are of particular importance for the concentration of Ge in plant-available forms. The transfer from soil to plant is usually low and shows clear differences between species belonging to the functional groups of grasses and forbs. Possible uptake mechanisms in the rhizosphere are discussed. However, the processes that are involved in the formation of plant-available Ge pools in soils and consequently its biogeochemical cycling are not yet well understood. There is, therefore, a need for future studies on the uptake mechanisms and stoichiometry of Ge uptake under field conditions and plant-soil-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere as well as the chemical speciation in different plant parts.

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Acknowledgements

Numerous students were involved in the experiments. The authors are indebted for their activity. We are grateful to the reviewers and Mandy Hoyer for many helpful comments on the manuscript. BS contributed as an Alexander-von-Humboldt research fellow.

Funding

These studies have been carried out in the framework of the PhytoGerm project financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (grant number 033R091A).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Biosciences, Biology/Ecology Group, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany

    Oliver Wiche, Christin Moschner & Hermann Heilmeier

  2. Interdisciplinary Environmental Centre, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany

    Oliver Wiche, Balázs Székely & Hermann Heilmeier

  3. Department of Geophysics and Space Science, Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary

    Balázs Székely

  4. Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria

    Balázs Székely

Authors
  1. Oliver Wiche
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  2. Balázs Székely
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  3. Christin Moschner
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  4. Hermann Heilmeier
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oliver Wiche.

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Responsible editor: Roberto Terzano

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Wiche, O., Székely, B., Moschner, C. et al. Germanium in the soil-plant system—a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 31938–31956 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3172-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3172-y

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