Study on the fractionation of inorganic phosphates in some paddy soils of Hunan Province

Hunan Province of China,lying in the centralof subtropical zone,is one of the major pro-duction areas of double-season rice.Rice pad-dy is the main agricultural soil of the area.Mixed samples of plough horizon（0-20cm）ofmajor types of paddy soils were collected be- fore cultivation in the spring of 1996-1997.The chemical fractions of inorganic phosphatesand the relationships between inorganic phos- phates and olsen-available P in the soils werestudied by using the fractionation system of in-organic phosphates proposed by JIANG Baifanet al.

Mobilization of Inorganic Phosphorus from Soils by Ectomycorrhizal Fungi

Ectomycorrhizal(EM) fungi could form symbiosis with plant roots and participate in nutrient absorption; however, many EM species commonly found in forest soils, where phosphorus(P) concentration and availability are usually very low, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas, have not yet been investigated for their efficiencies to mobilize soil P. In this study, fungal growth, P absorption,efflux of protons and organic acids, and soil P depletion by four isolates of EM fungi isolated either from acidic or calcareous soils were compared in pure liquid culture using soil as a sole P source. Boletus sp. 7(Bo 7), Lactarius deliciosus 3(Ld 3), and Pisolithus tinctorius 715(Pt 715) from acidic and P-deficient soils of southwestern China showed higher biomass and P concentration and accumulation than Cenococcum geophilum 4(Cg 4) from a calcareous soil of Inner Mongolia, northern China, after 4 weeks of liquid culture. Oxalate, malate, succinate, acetate, and citrate concentrations in the culture solutions varied significantly with fungal species,and oxalate accounted for 51.5%–91.4% of the total organic acids. Organic acids, particularly oxalate, in the culture solutions may lead to the solubilization of iron-bound P(Fe-P), aluminum-bound P(Al-P), and occluded P(O-P) from soil phosphates. Fungal species also varied greatly in proton efflux, which decreased the culture solution pH and may dissolve calcium-bound P(Ca-P) in soil.This could be the reason for the increment of both inorganic P in the culture solutions and Olsen P in the soil when EM fungi were present. Total inorganic P, the sum of Al-P, Fe-P, O-P, and Ca-P, in the culture solutions was positively correlated with the total concentration of organic acids in the culture solutions(r = 0.918*, n = 5), but negatively with both the total inorganic P in soil(r =-0.970**, n = 5) and the culture solution pH(r =-0.830*, n = 5). These suggested variable efficiencies of EM fungal species to mobilize inorganic P fractions from soil, which could make EM trees to utilize inorganic P in the same way like EM fungi and adapt to the soils with various P concentrations and availabilities.

A combined process coupling phytoremediation and in situ flushing for removal of arsenic in contaminated soil

Phytoremediation and soil washing are both potentially useful for remediating arsenic（As）-contaminated soils.We evaluated the effectiveness of a combined process coupling phytoremediation and in situ soil flushing for removal of As in contaminated soil through a pilot study.The results showed that growing Pteris vittata L.（P.v.） accompanied by soil flushing of phosphate（P.v./Flushing treatment） could significantly decrease the total As concentration of soil over a 37 day flushing period compared with the single flushing（Flushing treatment）.The P.v./Flushing treatment removed 54.04% of soil As from contaminated soil compared to 47.16% in Flushing treatment,suggesting that the growth of P.vittata was beneficial for promoting the removal efficiency.We analyzed the As fractionation in soil and As concentration in soil solution to reveal the mechanism behind this combined process.Results showed that comparing with the control treatment,the percent of labile arsenate fraction significantly increased by 17% under P.v./Flushing treatment.As concentration in soil solution remained a high lever during the middle and later periods（51.26–56.22 mg/L）,which was significantly higher than the Flushing treatment.Although soil flushing of phosphate for more than a month,P.vittata still had good accumulation and transfer capacity of As of the soil.The results of the research revealed that combination of phytoremediation and in situ soil flushing is available to remediate As-contaminated soils.