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Changes in Litter Near an Aluminum Reduction Plant
Author(s) -
Beyer W. Nelson,
Fleming W. James,
Swineford Douglas
Publication year - 1987
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/jeq1987.00472425001600030011x
Subject(s) - litter , zoology , plant litter , chemistry , agronomy , horticulture , nutrient , biology , organic chemistry
Litter was collected from eight sites at distances as far as 33 km from an Al reduction plant in western Tennessee. As a result of an accumulation of fine litter (<4.75 mm) the weight of the litter per unit area was abnormally high at the two sites within 2 km of the plant. Compared to litter collected far from the plant, it had a lower fiber content, was more sapric, and was less acid. Fluoride emissions from the plant were suggested as the probable cause of litter changes. Concentrations of water‐extractable and acid‐extractable F − in the litter, the 0‐ to 5‐cm soil layer, and the 5‐ to 15‐cm soil layer were strongly correlated with distance from the plant. Total acid‐extractable F − in the litter and upper 15 cm of soil was about 41 times as much at the closest site (700 mg/kg) as at the most distant sites (12 and 16 mg/kg). In a bioassay of litter from our study sites, woodlice ( Porcellio scaber Latr.) had an abnormally high mortality in litter that contained 440 mg/kg or more of acid‐extractable F − . However, when F − was added as NaF to litter, a significant increase in mortality was observed only in treatments exceeding 800 mg/kg. The decrease in the rate of decomposition of the litter might eventually induce a deficiency of soil macronutrients, but none was detected.