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Accumulation, availability, and uptake of heavy metals in a red soil after 22-year fertilization and cropping

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Abstract

Fertilization is important to increase crop yields, but long-term application of fertilizers probably aggravated the risk of heavy metals in acidic soils. In this study, the effect of 22-year fertilization and cropping on accumulation, availability, and uptake of heavy metals in red soil was investigated. The results showed that pig manure promoted significantly cadmium (Cd) accumulation (average 1.1 mg kg−1), nearly three times higher than national soil standards and, thus, increased metal availability. But the enrichment of heavy metals decreased remarkably by 50.5 % under manure fertilization, compared with CK (control without fertilization). On the contrary, chemical fertilizers increased greatly lead (Pb) availability and Cd activity; in particular, exceeding 85 % of soil Cd became available to plant under N (nitrogen) treatment during 9–16 years of fertilization, which correspondingly increased their enrichment by 29.5 %. Long-term application of chemical fertilizers caused soil acidification and manure fertilization led to the increase in soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), and available phosphorus (Olsen P), which influenced strongly metal behavior in red soil, and their effect had extended to deeper soil layer (20∼40 cm). It is advisable to increase application of manure alone with low content of heavy metals or in combination with chemical fertilizers to acidic soils in order to reduce toxic metal risk.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB441001), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41271254), and National Environmental Survey Project. The authors thank the staff at Red Soil Agro-Ecological Experimental Station of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences for supplying some soil, fertilizer and plant samples, and data of soil properties.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Shiwei Zhou, Jing Liu, Minggang Xu & Nan Sun

  2. College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shanxi, 712100, China

    Jing Liu & Jialong Lv

Authors
  1. Shiwei Zhou
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  2. Jing Liu
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  3. Minggang Xu
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  4. Jialong Lv
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  5. Nan Sun
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Correspondence to Minggang Xu.

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Responsible editor: Zhihong Xu

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Zhou, S., Liu, J., Xu, M. et al. Accumulation, availability, and uptake of heavy metals in a red soil after 22-year fertilization and cropping. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 15154–15163 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4745-7

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