Plant uptake of major and minor mineral elements as influenced by soil acidity and liming

This study reports effects on soil solution chemistry and plant uptake of 5 5 elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Br, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Dy, Er, Eu, Fe, Gd, Ge, Hf, Hg, Ho, K, La, Li, Lu, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Nd, Ni, P, Pb, Pr, Rb, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Si, Sm, Sr, Tb, Th, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Yb, Zn, Z r) by raising the pH using addition of fine-grained precipitated calcium ca rbonate at 20 rates (yielding a soil solution pH range of 5.2 - 7.8) to A h orizon samples of an acid Cambisol, cultivating a common grass (Agrostis ca pillaris L.) and determining the soil solution, root and shoot concentratio ns of these elements at the end of the experiment. For many of these elemen ts, there is little or no previous information about concentrations in soil solutions, or in plant biomass, as related to soil pH/acidity or addition of calcium carbonate. Soil solutions were obtained by high speed centrifuga tion and ultrafiltration (0.2 mum) of samples at 60% water-holding capacity . Concentrations of elements were determined by ICP-ES or (in most elements ) ICP-MS, using isotopes specified. Soil solution pH, HCO3 and organic C we re also determined. Concentrations of elements in the biomass of A. capillaris were usually inv ersely related to soil solution pH. The most apparent (p <0.001) inverse, t hough often curvilinear, relationships between pH and concentrations in sho ot biomass were measured for Ag, As, B, Ba, Eu, Ge, Li, Mn, Ni, P and Sr. P ositive relationships (p <0.05) were only measured in Ca, Hg, Mg, Mo and S. For concentrations in root biomass, relationships were mostly, but not alw ays, of the same sign and of a similar strength. Though soil solution pH an d concentrations of elements were usually quite closely correlated, pH and/ or HCO3- concentration more often accounted for a higher share of the varia bility in biomass concentration of elements than did soil solution concentr ation of the same element.