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Release of cationic aluminium from acidic soils into drainage water and relationships with land use
Author(s) -
ADAMS W. A.,
ALI A. Y.,
LEWIS P. J.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.244
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2389
pISSN - 0022-4588
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2389.1990.tb00061.x
Subject(s) - soil water , chemistry , streams , environmental chemistry , gibbsite , rainwater harvesting , soil acidification , leachate , soil ph , environmental science , mineralogy , soil science , ecology , kaolinite , computer network , computer science , biology
SUMMARY The concentration of cationic monomeric aluminium (A1 3+ ) was determined in streams draining areas in different land use. Relationships between the concentrations of A1 3+ and companion ions were examined both for streams and for eluates from soil leached in the laboratory with simulated rainwater that ranged in pH and salt concentration. The concentrations of A1 3+ were consistently greater in streams draining Sitka spruce woodland than in streams in adjacent catchments draining rough grazing. In no case was the A1 3+ concentration governed by the solubility product of gibbsite. The concentrations of A1 3+ were very closely correlated with excess anions (total inorganic anions minus basic cations) both for stream water and for eluates from soil leached with simulated rainwater at a constant pH equal to that of the soil (3.8). Exchangeable A1 was the source of A1 3+ in leachates from soil in the laboratory and the displacement of exchangeable Al was the dominant process accounting for the levels of A1 3+ in acidic streams. Hydrogen ions were much more important than basic cations in displacing exchangeable Al from the acidic soil used in the laboratory experiments and probably from soils in the field. The greater excess of inorganic anions in streams from Sitka spruce woodland probably resulted from a greater anion excess in the input water (acid rain) together with a greater NO, production in the soil. All three major anions, CI, SO 4 and NO 3 contributed to the greater anion excess.