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Effect of soil acidification induced by a tea plantation on chemical and mineralogical properties of Alfisols in eastern China

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Abstract

The effect of a tea plantation on soil basic properties, chemical and mineralogical compositions, and magnetic properties of Alfisols from eastern China was studied. Under the tea plantation, acidification took place within a soil depth of 70 cm, with the maximum difference in pH in the upper 17 cm (ΔpH = 2.80). Both the tea plantation and unused soil profiles were predominated by free Fe and Al oxides, i.e. citrate/bicarbonate/dithionite extractable Fe (Fed) and Al (Ald). Tea plantation soil was characterized by higher Ald and Fed and lower Fe oxalate, Fe2O3 and Al2O3; CaO was depleted, whereas SiO2 accumulated. Acidification induced by the tea plantation led to destruction of vermiculite followed by dissolution of the hydroxy-Al interlayers within its structure. The data clearly demonstrated that significant soil weathering occurred with acidification caused by tea cultivation. This acidification also resulted in decreased content of ferrimagnetic minerals due to the dissolution of minerals and movement of Fe in the profile.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by RFBR (Russia)-NSFC (China) foundations (04-04-39015) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30872009). We are very grateful to Professor B. Maher (Centre for Environmental Magnetism and Paleomagnetism, Lancaster University, UK) for the opportunity to use the equipment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Physical, Chemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science, Russia Academy of Sciences, Pushchino Moscow Region, 142290, Russia

    T. Alekseeva, A. Alekseev & P. Kalinin

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 821, Nanjing, China

    Ren-Kou Xu & An-Zhen Zhao

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  1. T. Alekseeva
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  2. A. Alekseev
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Correspondence to Ren-Kou Xu.

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Alekseeva, T., Alekseev, A., Xu, RK. et al. Effect of soil acidification induced by a tea plantation on chemical and mineralogical properties of Alfisols in eastern China. Environ Geochem Health 33, 137–148 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-010-9327-5

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