Abstract
The concentrations of rare earth elements (REs) in atmospheric particles, soil, soil water, surface runoff, and different parts of corn in an experimental plot in the suburb of Beijing, China were measured and the flux of REs was estimated. The concentration of REs in air particles with diameter less than 10 µm is 36 ng/m3 and, by ratio analysis, the origin of REs in the atmosphere was likely local soil. The concentration of soluble REs is 0.69 µg/L in rainwater, 5–7 µg/L in surface runoff, as well as 1–4 µg/L in soil water and the application of RE mixture has no observed influences on their concentrations. The concentration of soluble REs in surface runoff and soil water was dominated by aqueous-solid-phase partitioning. By estimation of the flux, most of the REs applied will remain in the soil phase and continued application of REs will cause an accumulation of REs in agricultural soil.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
X. X. Gao, Agricultural Application and Electroanalytical Chemistry of the Rare Earth Elements, Peking University Publisher, Beijing (1997) (in Chinese).
A. A. Volokh, A. V. Gorbunov, S. F. Gundorina, B. A. Revich, M. V. Frontasyeva, and S. P. Chen, Phosphorus fertilizer production as a source of rare-earth elements pollution of the environment. Sci. Total Environ. 95, 141–148 (1990).
A. Peng and Z. Wang, Recent research progress on environmental chemistry of rare earth element, Huanjing Kexue Jinzhan 3, 22–32 (1995) (in Chinese).
S. Zhang, L. J. Wang, and C. S. Zhang, Neutron activation technique and geo-biochemical behavior of rare-earth elements, in Modern Nuclear Analysis and its Application in Environment, S. Zhang, ed. Publisher for Nuclear Energy, Beijing, pp. 199–210 (1994) (in Chinese).
J. Z. Ni, Bioinorganic Chemistry of Rare Earth Elements, Chinese Science Publisher, Beijing (1995) (in Chinese).
W. X. Ding, Rare earth elements in Chinese soils, J. Chin. Rare Earth Soc. 15, 44–48 (1995) (in Chinese).
H. Ichihashi, M. Hideyoshi, and T. Ryo, Rare earth elements (REs) in naturally grown plants in relation to their variation in soils, Environ. Pollut. 76, 157–162 (1992).
M. Boger, Y. H. M. Van Erp, and P. Eichner, Assessment of the potential toxicity of lanthanum for aquatic organism, in Proceedings of the 2nd Sino-Dutch Workshop on the Environmental Behavior and Ecotoxicology of Rare Earth Elements and Heavy Metals, R. Guieherit and W. Zhu, eds., TNO, Delft, The Netherlands, pp. 14–18 (1997).
S. Zhang and X. Q. Shan, Determination of rare earth elements in soil by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Atomic Spectrosc. 18, 140–144 (1997).
I. Olmez and G. E. Gordon, Rare earth: atmospheric signatures for oil-fired power plants and refineries, Science 229, 966–969 (1985).
P. H. Brown, A. H. Rathjen, R. D. Graham, and D. E. Tribe, Rare earth elements in biological systems, in Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earth, Volume 13, K. A. Gschneidner, Jr. and I. Eyring, eds., Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, pp. 423–452 (1990).
R. Ran and Z. Liu, Content and distribution of rare earth elements in soil of China, J. Chin. Rare Earth Soc. 12, 248–252 (1994) (in Chinese).
C. X. Wang, W. Z. Zhu, Z. Wang, and R. Guicherit, Rare earth elements and metals in the atmospheric particulate matters in the western part of the Netherlands, Water Air Soil Pollut. 121(1/4), 111–120 (2000).
Z. X. Chen, X. R. Wang, and L. Q. Tian, Study on the speciation and availability of exogenous rare earth in soil, J. Chin. Rare Earth Soc., 13(1), 74–77 (1995) (in Chinese).
Y. L. Liu, J. H. Liu, Z. Wang, and A. Peng. Speciation transformation of added rare earth elements in soil, Huanjing Huaxue 18, 393–397 (1999) (in Chinese).
Q. Cai, S. J. Ma, S. Wu, and X. T. Hong, The intensity of erosion and storm runoff from different types of soils in Huabai plain, in Water Pollution Control in Baiyangdian Area, China, S. Zhang and Y. A. Tang, eds., China Science Publisher, Beijing, pp. 75–81 (1995).
Z. Wang, D. F. Liu, P. Lu, and C. X. Wang, Accumulation of rare earth elements in corn after agricultural application, J. Environ. Qual. 30, 37–45 (2001).
J. X. Sun and H. Zhao, Concentration and distribution of rare earth elements in wheat and rice, Kexue Tongbao 37(24), 2273–2280 (1992) (in Chinese).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Z., Wang, C., Lu, P. et al. Concentrations and flux of rare earth elements in a semifield plot as influenced by their agricultural application. Biol Trace Elem Res 84, 213–226 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1385/BTER:84:1-3:213
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/BTER:84:1-3:213