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The accumulation and transfer of arsenic and mercury in the soil under a long-term fertilization treatment

  • Soils, Sec 2 • Global Change, Environ Risk Assess, Sustainable Land Use • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The North China Plain (NCP) is a strategic grain production base in China with a wild distribution of fertile soils. During the past 20 years, high-input intensive agriculture with excess chemical fertilizer application has sustained high grain yields, but may have resulted in contamination of some elements in farmland. In this study, the accumulation and transfer of arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) in typical Calcaric Fluvisols with long-term different fertilization practices were investigated.

Materials and methods

Field experiments with seven treatments were launched in 1989, and soil and plant samples were collected and analyzed periodically. The treatments include OM (organic manure), OM + NPK (50 % organic manure + 50 % chemical fertilizer), NPK, NP, PK, NK, and CK (the control experiment with no fertilizer).

Results and discussion

With over 20 years (1989–2009) of cultivation, various extents of As and Hg accumulations were really observed in the soil. The higher As and Hg contents were found in P fertilizers than those in N, K, or OM fertilizers. As a result, the long-term P fertilization slightly promoted Hg accumulations with decreased soil Hg concentrations in the order of NPK ≈ NP ≈ PK ≈ OM + NPK > OM > NK ≈ CK, which was similar to the order of crop yields. At the tillage layer (0–20 cm), Hg accumulation in the soil was enhanced by crop production, due to the highly accumulated Hg in plant roots finally remained in the soil. However, no significant differences of soil As concentrations can be found between treatments with and without P fertilizers probably due to water leaching and plant uptake.

Conclusions

Soil As and Hg were mainly contributed by fertilizers, irrigation, and atmospheric deposition in recent years, but they did not exhibit in significant accumulations in the soil. The contents of As and Hg were not above the critical safe levels of soils for crop production (As, <30 mg kg−1; Hg, <500 μg kg−1). Arsenic and Hg tended to move downward in the soil profile and the movement was hindered by clay minerals.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (2011CB100506), China Agriculture Research System-Wheat (CARS-03-02A), Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISSASIP1118), and Strategic pilot and technology special funds of the Chinese Academy of Science (XDA05050502, XDB15030302).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Qingyun Wang, Jiabao Zhang, Xiuli Xin, Bingzi Zhao & Donghao Ma

  2. The Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, 74078, OK, USA

    Hailin Zhang

Authors
  1. Qingyun Wang
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  2. Jiabao Zhang
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  3. Xiuli Xin
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  4. Bingzi Zhao
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  5. Donghao Ma
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  6. Hailin Zhang
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Correspondence to Jiabao Zhang.

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Responsible editor: Jean Louis Morel

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Wang, Q., Zhang, J., Xin, X. et al. The accumulation and transfer of arsenic and mercury in the soil under a long-term fertilization treatment. J Soils Sediments 16, 427–437 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1227-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1227-y

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