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Effects of Sulfur Dioxide Fumigation in Open‐Top Field Chambers on Soil Acidification and Exchangeable Aluminum
Author(s) -
Lee Edward H.,
Heggestad Howard E.,
Bennett Jesse H.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1982.00472425001100010023x
Subject(s) - fumigation , chemistry , soil ph , sulfur dioxide , zoology , soil acidification , environmental chemistry , sulfur , phytotoxicity , cation exchange capacity , soil water , horticulture , agronomy , inorganic chemistry , environmental science , soil science , biology , organic chemistry
The effects of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) fumigation in open‐top field chambers on soil pH and exchangeable Al were evaluated. Soil samples were taken from the surface 0–8 cm in plots where tomato ( Lycopersicum esculentum L. ‘Jet Star’) plants were grown. Treatments were: 0, 0.06, 0.12, 0.24, and 0.48 ppm SO 2 in non‐filtered (NF) air, and 0, 0.12, and 0.48 ppm SO 2 in C‐filtered (CF) air. The variation in soil pH after 13 weeks of exposure (5 hours/day, 5 days/week) to 0.12 ppm or less SO 2 was not statistically significant. However, the highest SO 2 dose (0.48 ppm SO 2 for 275 hours total exposure) significantly decreased soil pH from 5.84 to 5.05 and from 5.75 to 4.89 in NF and CF chambers, respectively. A high linear correlation was found between SO 2 exposure concentration and soil SO 4 ‐S levels at the end of the fumigation period ( r = 0.95). Exchangeable Al was markedly increased at pH values below 5.5. The highest SO 2 exposure dose caused exchangeable Al in the surface soil to be increased more than tenfold from 0.64 to 6.53% of the total cation exchange capacity. Long‐term SO 2 exposure appears to possess the potential to induce Al phytotoxicity only when the soil pH is reduced to below pH 5.0.