Soil science
H. Hatami; H. Parvizi; A. Parnian; Gholamhassan Ranjbar
Abstract
IntroductionThe availability of phosphorus (P) is a limiting factor for the production of crops due to its reactions with soil components. Furthermore, there are concerns about the depletion of non-renewable global rock phosphate (the main source of P) reserves because of the high demand for P fertilizers. ...
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IntroductionThe availability of phosphorus (P) is a limiting factor for the production of crops due to its reactions with soil components. Furthermore, there are concerns about the depletion of non-renewable global rock phosphate (the main source of P) reserves because of the high demand for P fertilizers. Therefore, it is essential to revisit existing agricultural practices to determine new resource management practices that utilize renewable resources. The application of sewage sludge could be an alternative P source; contrary to inorganic fertilizers, sewage sludge is cheap, contains nutrients, and improves soil quality due to contained organic matter. The total P content of sewage sludge may vary from less than 0.1% to over 14% on a dry solid basis, depending on the nature of the raw sewage being treated and the treatment process under consideration. However, the use of organic P resources can affect the soil chemistry, leading to changes to the P fractions and their quantities. Hence, the objective of this study was to compare the effect of the application of municipal sewage sludge and triple superphosphate on the distribution of soil-P fractions under saline and non-saline conditions.Materials and MethodsTo investigate the effect of municipal sewage sludge and triple superphosphate on changes in P fractions an incubation experiment was conducted in a completely randomized factorial design with three levels of triple superphosphate (0, 75, and 100 Kg ha-1 which were named T0, T1, and T3, respectively), three levels of municipal sewage sludge (0, 0.25 and 0.5% w/w which were named M0, M1 and M3, respectively), two levels of salinity of irrigation water (2 and 12 dS m−1, which were named saline and non-saline, respectively) and three replicates. The total number of samples was 54. The treated soils were incubated for three months and maintained at field capacity by adding the appropriate amount of saline and non-saline waters. P fractionated to KCl-P (soluble and exchangeable P), NaOH-P (Fe- and Al bound P), HCl-P (Ca-bound P), Res-P (residual P), and organic-P by sequential extraction method. Moreover, P percentage recovery for Olsen-P at each treatment was calculated. P concentration in samples was determined by the molybdate method. Data analysis was performed by MSTAT-C software, and the means were compared at α꞊5% by Duncan test. Results and DiscussionThe results showed that although the relative distribution of fractions followed the order of HCl-P < Organic-P < KCl-P < NaOH-P <Res-P, the changes in each fraction were dependent on the type of treatment and fraction. The amounts of KCl-P for application of municipal sewage sludge and fertilizer TSP combined, especially, T2M2 were 3.1 and 2.3 times higher than T0M0 in non-saline and saline conditions, respectively. The same result was obtained for NaOH-P. The combined and separate application of municipal sewage sludge diminished the relative distribution of HCl-P compared with triple superphosphate and control treatments in both salinities. However, the HCl-P in all treatments was more than 57% of the total P, suggesting that most of the soil P was in the carbonate phase. The treatments did not have a considerable impact on Res-P. The relative distribution of Organic-P increased by increasing levels of salinity and municipal sewage sludge. Therefore, it seems that municipal sewage sludge addition along with fertilizer P can reduce the negative effects of salinity and increase soil P availability compared with alone use of P fertilizer through growing the contents of KCl-P, NaOH-P, and organic-P fractions and, consequently, decreasing P entry into HCl-P fraction. Moreover, the application of municipal sewage sludge plus triple superphosphate increased P recovery as Olsen-P compared to a separate application of triple superphosphate which confirmed the advantage of the combined use of these sources.ConclusionThe findings of this study indicate that the simultaneous application of municipal sewage sludge and triple superphosphate can effectively improve phosphorus (P) availability in saline conditions. This enhancement is attributed to the alteration of the relative distribution of non-stable P fractions, such as KCl-P and NaOH-P, which increase, while stable P fractions like HCl-P decrease. Moreover, the addition of municipal sewage sludge into soils led to a significant increase in organic C as well as the relative distribution of organic-P. Therefore, application of municipal sewage sludge can improve the physico-chemical properties of saline soil along with increase of P availability. Hence, further research on the growth response of halophyte plants as affected by these treatments is recommended.
Soil science
H. Hatami; A. Fotovat
Abstract
Introduction
Boron (B) has a dual effect on living systems, so that the concentration range within which B is changed from a nutrient to a pollutant is rather narrow. Although B plays essential roles in all living organisms, its long-term excessive uptake has adverse effects on either human beings or ...
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Introduction
Boron (B) has a dual effect on living systems, so that the concentration range within which B is changed from a nutrient to a pollutant is rather narrow. Although B plays essential roles in all living organisms, its long-term excessive uptake has adverse effects on either human beings or plants and animals. Furthermore, part of the B that can be used as fertilizer is highly soluble and easily leached into the soil profile leadsing to some problems such as decrease of fertilizer efficiency. Therefore, to improve agricultural productivity through its gradual uptake by plants, the increase of B adsorption in the soil solution is necessary. Many adsorbents have been used for the adsorption of B from aqueous solutions; however, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have been considered as one of the most effective adsorbents as well as slow releaser fertilizers of inorganic anions such as nitrate, phosphate, etc. The formula of LDHs are typically denoted as [M1-x 2+M x 3+ (OH)2]x+ (An-) x/n .m(H2O), where M2+ and M3+ are divalent and trivalent cations, respectively, the significance of x is the molar ratio of M3+/(M3++ M2+) and An- is the intercalated anion. Although LDH materials are commonly prepared by combining two divalent and trivalent metals, more metals can be introduced in the brucite layer to achieve a large variety of composition and higher adsorption capacity. Stability of LDHs in soil can be affected by numerous factors (e.g. low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs)) leading to release of structural cations in addition to interlayer anion. However, there are scarce investigations that have evaluated the potential of ternary LDHs (e.g. Zn–Mn–Al LDH) in desorption of B (as interlayer anion) and release of Zn and Mn (as structural anions) in a simulated soil solution. Therefore, the objectives of this study were, i) to compare the desorption of B capacity of binary LDH (Zn–Al LDH) and ternary LDH (Zn–Mn–Al LDH) in the simulated soil solution, and ii) to investigate the effect of three different electrolytes (potassium nitrate, oxalic acid, and citric acid) on the release of Zn and Mn from synthesized LDHs.
Materials and methods
A modified urea hydrolysis method was employed to synthesize Zn–Al and Mn-substituted Zn–Al LDHs with Zn(+Mn)/Al molar ratio of 2. Herein the contents of Mn with respect to Zn corresponded to 2% and 10% molar ratio. Accordingly, the synthesized materials denoted as Zn–Al, Zn–Mn1 and Zn–Mn2 for the samples without Mn, with 2 and 10 mol% Mn with respect to Zn content. For investigation of B desorption at a concentration of 10 mM, 15 mL from equilibrium solutions were substituted with 15 mL of 0.03 M KNO3 and shaken for 240 min. Substitution was repeated four times and A modified urea hydrolysis method was employed to synthesize Zn–Al and Mn-substituted Zn–Al LDHs with Zn (+Mn)/Al molar ratio of 2. Herein the contents of Mn with respect to Zn corresponded to 2% and 10% molar ratio. Accordingly, the synthesized materials denoted as Zn–Al, Zn–Mn1 and Zn–Mn2 for the samples without Mn, with 2 and 10 mol% Mn with respect to Zn content. For investiigatigatingon of B desorption at a concentration of 10 mM, 15 mL from equilibrium solutions were substituted with 15 mL of 0.03 M KNO3 and shaken for 240 min. Substitution was repeated four times and B concentrations in extracts were measured by Azomethine-H method. Furthermore, the supernatant Zn and Mn concentrations were determined by GF-AAS (PG 900). This process was repeated for 1.25 mM oxalic acid and 1.25 mM citric acid to study the effect of these compounds on B desorption as well as release of Zn and Mn. B concentrations in extracts were measured by Azomethine-H method. Furthermore, the supernatant Zn and Mn concentrations were determined by GF-AAS (PG 900). This process was repeated for 1.25 mM oxalic acid and 1.25 mM citric acid to study the effect of these compounds on B desorption as well as release of Zn and Mn.
Results and Discussion
The adsorption and desorption isotherm were carried out to describe the distribution of B between the liquid and adsorbent. The isotherm data of synthesized LDHs were matched with Freundlich model. The values of 1/n in this model were found between 0 and 1 for all LDHs indicating favorable sorption of B on these compounds. The highest adsorption was observed for ternary LDHs (particularly Zn–Mn2) due to their higher specific surface area and also due to the ion exchange mechanism in combination with surface adsorption. However, the results showed that the percentages of B desorption by potassium nitrate, oxalic acid and citric acid were lower for Zn–Mn1 (19.4, 29.1 and 38.2%, respectively) and Zn–Mn2 (18.6, 28.2 and 35.9 %, respectively) than Zn–Al (30.8, 41.2 and 46.2%, respectively). This observation suggests that the type of LDH, B adsorption mechanism and background electrolyte can affect the amount of B desorption. Furthermore, after 4 successive desorption cycles, the concentration of Zn and Mn increased in the supernatants (particularly in organic acid electrolytes) suggesting dissolution mechanism possibility happened for the studied LDHs. Among the background electrolytes, citric acid was the most effective compound in releasing Zn and Mn, followed by oxalic acid and potassium nitrate. A reason for this such observations could be that with respect to chemical structure, citric acid by three carboxyl groups can form more chelate rings compared to oxalic acid, which contain two carboxyl groups. Therefore, it seems that B containing Zn–Mn–Al LDH may have potential to be used as a slow release fertilizer in soils to supply three essential elements, including B, Zn and Mn simultaneously. However, further studies are required to support such a hypothesis.
Hadis Hatami; Amir Fotovat; Akram Halajnia
Abstract
Introduction: After nitrogen, phosphorus is the second most frequently limiting macronutrient for plant growth. It participates in metabolic processes such as photosynthesis, energy transfer and synthesis and breakdown of carbohydrates. H2PO4- and HPO42- are two forms of this element which are present ...
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Introduction: After nitrogen, phosphorus is the second most frequently limiting macronutrient for plant growth. It participates in metabolic processes such as photosynthesis, energy transfer and synthesis and breakdown of carbohydrates. H2PO4- and HPO42- are two forms of this element which are present in the soil solution in the available form. Due to phosphorus reactions with soil components (oxy or hydroxides of Fe and Al in acidic soils and Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions in calcareous soils), the availability of this element is a limiting factor for production of agricultural crops in the whole world. To minimize this problem it is needed to improve the recycling of phosphorus and develop new technologies to reduce phosphorus losses and increase its effectiveness. In the recent decades, layered double hydroxides (LDH) have been extremely used as an effective sorbent for organic and inorganic anions sush as phosphate. Furthermore, some studies have suggested that the phosphate form LDH is applicable as a slow release phosphate fertilizer. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to compare the effect of using Zn-Al LDH and triple superphosphate (TSP) as fertilizers on the availability of phosphorus over time in a calcareous soil.
Materials and Methods: At the first, nitrate containing Zn-Al LDH (N-LDH) was synthesized by urea hydrolysis method and then ion exchange method was used for the phosphate anions intercalation into N-LDH. In this process, 5.0 g of the N-LDH was suspended in 1000 mL of a solution 0.05 mol/L of K2HPO4. The suspension was kept for 12 h at room temperature (25 °C) under stirring. Afterwards, the material was filtered, washed with distilled water and dried at 70 °C for 18 h. The LDH sample produced by the ion exchange method was nominated as P-LDH. To compare the effects of P-LDH and TSP application on the availability of soil phosphorus, an incubation experiment was carried out using a completely randomized factorial design with two sources of phosphorus (P-LDH and TSP), four levels of phosphorus (0 (control), 18, 45 and 90 mg P kg-1), eight levels of time (1, 5, 10, 20, 40, 70, 100 and 150 days) and three replications. Available phosphorus and zinc, pH and EC of samples were measured at the end of each time period. Available phosphorus was extracted with 0.5 M sodium bicarbonate and phosphorus concentration was determined using the ascorbic acid method. Available zinc content was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry following extraction of the sample by DTPA-TEA method. Also, pH and EC were measured in water (soil/water ratio 1:2). Data analysis was performed by MSTAT-C software, and the means were compared at α꞊5% by Duncan test.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that the use of P-LDH and TSP significantly improved available phosphorus compared to control treatment. However, in contrast to TSP, available phosphorus in P-LDH treatments increased with increasing of time, up to significant difference which was observed between the two sources after 150 days. This result is probably due to slow release of phosphorus from P-LDH and reduction of phosphorus reactions with different soil components. Moreover, available zinc was higher for P-LDH treatments than TSP treatments as dissolution of P-LDH may concurrently release zinc ions into the soil solution. It seems that the application of P-LDH not only increased the availability of phosphorus but also improved available zinc. Therefore, due to the zinc deficiency in calcareous soils, P-LDH can be used as a suitable dual purpose fertilizer for these soils. However, the possibility of Zn toxicity risk due to higher level of LDH application in soil is not ruled out. It is worth mentioning that the variation of pH and EC values in P-LDH treatments showed no significant difference compared to TSP tratments. In other words, application of P-LDH increased soil available phosphorus and zinc without any negative effect on soil pH and EC.
Conclusions: The results of this study illustrated that the P-LDH probably can be used as a slow release phosphate fertilizer to increase the phosphorus efficiency; however, care should be taken as the high levels of this fertilizer may not be recommended due to the high zinc content. It should be noted that the high levels of phosphorus are not appropriate for all phosphorus fertilizers but in the present study we used the different levels of fertilizers because the behavior of P-LDH was not clear for us.
Hadis Hatami; Ali reza Karimi; A. Fotovat; H. Khademi
Abstract
Aluminosilicates such as K-feldspar and micaceous minerals are the main source of potassium in soils. The objectives of this study were to investigate the release of K from micaceous minerals (biotite, phlogopite, muscovite) and K-feldspars (Zanjan and Yazd) using sequential extraction by 0.05 M BaCl2 ...
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Aluminosilicates such as K-feldspar and micaceous minerals are the main source of potassium in soils. The objectives of this study were to investigate the release of K from micaceous minerals (biotite, phlogopite, muscovite) and K-feldspars (Zanjan and Yazd) using sequential extraction by 0.05 M BaCl2 and determine the effect of mineral grain size and application of kinetic models to describe K release. For this purpose, sequential extraction with BaCl2 was conducted on two sizes of 50-100 and less than 50 micron for the periods of 2-600 hours. The amount of K released into the solution was measured by flame photometer. The results indicated that after 13 times of extraction, in the both sizes, biotite and muscovite had the highest and lowest values of K release, respectively. Meanwhile, the released K increased by decreasing the mineral size. The kinetics of K release from minerals consisted of two phases, the first phase was relatively rapid and then continued with a slow rate to end of the experiment. Regarding the high determination coefficient (R2) and low standard error of the estimate (SE), parabulic diffusion and exponential function equations could reasonably describe the K release kinetics. Therefore, it may be concluded that the release of K is controlled by diffusion process from the surface of the study minerals.