Review of interactions between phosphorus and arsenic in soils from four case studies

Desorption of Arsenic from Calcareous Mine Affected Soils by Phosphate Fertilizers Application in Relation to Soil Properties and As Partitioning

The ability of fertilizer phosphates to desorb arsenates from soils is not yet adequately studied especially in cases of mining lands severely contaminated with arsenic (As). In this study, two soils with different physicochemical properties and heavily contaminated with As equilibrated with solutions containing various rates of phosphates either in the form of triple superphosphate fertilizer (TSP) or as NH4H2PO4 using NaNO3 as background electrolyte. A treatment with TSP in water was also applied to mimic agronomic practices. In general, increased P rates resulted in higher As release and to lower P sorption. Depending on the P rate, desorbed As ranged between 8 and 64.4 mg/kg for soil 1 and between 16.5 and 35.3 mg/kg for soil 2, corresponding to more than 50% of the potentially available As, as defined by the sum of the two first fractions of Wenzel sequential extraction scheme. Arsenic desorption patterns substantially differ between the two soils, mainly affected by active carbonates, organic matter and Fe and Al oxides contents. Though the differences between P treatments were not always significant, the presence of NaNO3 increased the desorbing strength of the solutions. Phosphorus sorption capacity was high for both soils, but excess P addition led to high P concentrations in the equilibrium solutions, implying leaching hazard.

Arsenic fractionation and its impact on physiological behavior of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in three texturally different soils under alkaline calcareous conditions

Soil textural composition may be important to control arsenic (As) behavior in soil and movement to plant. Two independent parallel experiments comprising of five As levels (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg As kg^-1 soil) and three soil textural types (sandy, loamy, and clayey) were designed for determining As fractionation in soils and its consequential effects on growth, yield, and physiological characteristics of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Six As fractions, i.e., NH₄Cl-extractable, NH₄F-extractable, NaOH-extractable, H₂SO₄-extractable, H₂O₂-extractable, and HNO₃-extractable, were determined. On an average, NH₄Cl-extractable As (the most phytoavailable among the extracted fractions) was 48.9, 19.8, and 6.6% of the total As while the bioaccumulation factor for root ranged between 1.9 and 9.5, 1.8 and 4.4, and 0.8 and 2.1 for sandy, loamy, and clayey textured soils, respectively. There was an increase of 8.3, 5.6, and 6.0 times in malondialdehyde with a subsequent reduction in photosynthetic rate by 53.3, 42.7, and 38.0% and achene yield 90.0, 87.1, and 85.5% in sandy, loamy, and clayey textured soils, respectively at 200 mg As kg^-1 as compared with the control. Antioxidant enzyme activities were increased with increasing As addition, and maximum activities were found at 150 mg As kg^-1, where catalase activities were 377.7, 341.6, and 292.0%; peroxidase 788.5, 758.6, and 737.0%; and superoxide dismutase 235.7, 191.8, and 177.2% higher in sandy, loamy, and clayey textured soils, respectively as compared with the control. In conclusion, As fractionation was markedly influenced by soil texture, and toxic effects of As on growth, yield and physiological characteristics of sunflower were maximum in sandy followed by loamy and clayey textured soils in descending order.