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Inthisstudy,Ianalyzedthesoilfortheconcentrationsoftenelements.
Eightoftheseelementsareessentialtothegrowthofplants.Theycan
bedividedintomacroandmicronutrients,accordingtotheamountof
theelementrequiredbyplants.Theothertwoelementsarenon
nutrientsandarenotessentialtoplantgrowth.Athighenough
concentrations,othernecessarynutrientscanalsobecometoxictothe
ecosystem.Bycategory,theelementsare:
The
Macronutrients
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphorous
The
Micronutrients
Iron
Manganese
Zinc
Copper
Nonnutrients
Aluminum
Lead
GeneralOverview
Thesoilelementsthatwereanalyzedcanallmovebackandforth
betweenseveralchemicalformswithinthesoil.Theymayalsobe
dissolvedinsoilsolutionasions(moleculeswithapositiveornegative
charge).Theymaybeboundininsolubleforms,oftenthrough
associationwithparentminerals.Theparentmaterialsslowlyrelease
theelementsovertimeaspartofthenaturalweatheringprocess.As
moleculesofanelementmovebetweentheirvariousforms,theycome
toandynamicequilibriumthatshiftsaccordingtocertainsoil
conditions,including:pH,texture,aerationofthesoil,andthepresence
ofotherions.
TheNorthHavensoilisacidic,sandy,anddry.Theelementswe
analyzedareusuallypresentascations(ionswithapositivecharge).
Cationsaremostlikelytobefoundintheirdissolvedionicformin
acidicsandysoils,becausetheH+ionsinacidreplacethepositively
chargedionsontheparentmaterialandothersoilexchangesites.In
sandyacidicsoils,theseionscanleachoutwithgroundwaterorrunoff,
andforthisreasonoftenaredeficient.
Uptakebyplantsisasignificantpartofthecyclesofsomeof
theseelements.Plantsabsorbthemoleculeswhentheyareinionic
formandthenreleasethemupondecomposition.Whatfollowsisa
descriptionoftheseelements'rolesinplantsandslightlymoredetailon
theirgeneralbehaviorinsoils.Exceptwherenoted,thisinformationis
fromBradyandWeil,1996.
TheMacronutrients
Themacronutrientsareessentialelementsthatcomprisebetween
0.11.0%ofaplant.Theygenerallyareimportanttothestructural
moleculesofaplant,includingcarbohydrates,proteins,chlorophyll,
cellwalls,DNA,RNA,sugarphosphatesandphospholipids.
Potassium
Potassiumiscrucialtomostionicfunctionsofaplant,
includingstomatalcontrol,themaintenanceofturgor
pressure,andchargebalanceduringselectiveionuptake
acrossrootmembranes.Itisalsoacoenzymeinmany
biochemicalreactions.Itcomprises1.0%ofaplant.
Potassiumishighlymobileandleacheseasilyfromleaves
andthenistakenupinhighquantitiesbymicrobesand
plants.Theprimarymovementofpotassiuminthesystem
isbetweenplantsandthesoilsolution,whereitresidesasan
ionthateasilyleachesfromtheecosystem.
Theprimarysourceofpotassiuminsoilsolutionisthe
weatheringofparentrocks.Withinanacidicsoil,
potassiummaybetightlyboundininsolubleminerals
(micasandfeldspars),slowlyavailablewhenassociated
with2:1typeminerals,moderatelyavailablewhen
associatedwithclayandhumuscolloids,andeasily
availablewheninsoilsolution.Thesmallamountof
potassiumdissolvedinsoilsolutionasanionishighly
leachable,althoughlossesofpotassiumfromrunoffand
erosionisnotasignificantprobleminforests,comparedto
someelements.
Calcium
Plantsusecalciumtobuildcellwalls.Italsohelps
keepPavailableintherootzonebybindingwithother
competitorions.Itcommonlycomprises0.5%ofaplant.
Becauseitisboundwithincellwalls,itdoesnotleachfrom
theleavesnorcirculatewithintheplant.However,itcan
easilyleachthroughsoillayers.Itsprimarysourceisfrom
weathering,andthenitisstoredasacation(apositively
chargedion)onsoilexchangesites(negativelycharged).
Magnesium
Magnesiumisthecentralatomofthechlorophyll
molecule.Italsoisanimportantcoenzyme.Itisvery
mobileinplantsasacation.Itgenerallymakesup0.2%of
plants.
Phosphorous
Phosphorousisrequiredfortheformationofenergy
transferandstoragemolecules(ADP,ATP).Becauseit
formsthebackboneofDNAandRNAmolecules,italso
regulatescelldivision,rootdevelopment,andprotein
formation.Onaverage,phosphorouscomprisesbetween
0.2%0.4%ofthedrymatterintheleavesofahealthy
plant.Itiscrucialtomanyfunctionsofplants,akey
componentofmostfertilizers,andoftendeficientinnon
fertilizedsoils.
Itismobileasananioninplants.Theprimarysource
ofpotassiuminsoilsolutionistheweatheringofparent
rocks.Withinmostsoilsarelargeamountsofpotassium
boundinunavailableforms.Inacidicsoils,thelargest
proportionofpotassiumisboundinironandaluminum
boundinsolubleminerals.Theymayalsobindwith
manganese.Initsionic(available)form,phosphatestrongly
adsorbstosoilparticlesanddoesnotquicklyflushoutof
thesystem.Still,lossesinrunoffareimportant.
TheMicronutrients
Themicronutrientsareessentialelementsthatcompriseless
than.01%(100ppm)ofaplant.Theygenerallyaremetabolically
activeinplantsasimportantcoenzymes.Specificfactorsaffecting
theirbehaviorinsoilsismentionedbelow,butingeneral,these
elementsfollowthebehaviordescribedinthegeneraloverview.
Iron
Ironprimarilyoriginatesfromchemicalweatheringof
theparentmaterialandisnotabsorbedbyplantsin
appreciablequantitiestheamountfoundinplantsisseveral
ordersofmagnitudelowerthantheamountinmineralsoil.
Itsmovementinsoilhorizonsisduemainlytochemical
processeswithinthesoil,ratherthanassociationwith
organicmatteroruptakebybiomass.Therefore,its
distributionpatternsexemplifythechemicalredistribution
occurringasthesoilrestratifiesintohorizons.Infact,the
distinctivecolorofthesoilhorizonsarecausedbyiron.Its
presencegivesthereddishtinttotheBhsandBshorizons,
anditsabsenceleavestheEhorizonalightgraycolor.
Irongenerallymakesup100ppm(0.01%)ofplants.It
servesimportantroles,especiallyasanelectroncarrierin
enzymes.Italsoplaysaroleinnitrogenfixationand
chlorophyllformation.
Manganese
Manganeseisgenerallyplentifulinacidsoilandmay
reachtoxiclevelsbelowapHof6.5(asinthepitchpine
site).Itgenerallyleachesoutofacidicsoilsanddepositsin
alkalinesoillayers.Mostplantscontainaround50ppm
manganese.Itiskeytomanyplantfunctions,including
photosynthesis,respiration,andnitrogenmetabolism,
becauseitformsbridgesbetweenenzymesandtheir
substrates.
Zinc
Insoils,zincistightlyadsorbedtomagnesium.On
average,plantscontainaround20ppmofzinc.Zincisa
keycomponentofgrowthcontrolhormonesandaidsin
proteinsynthesis.
Copper
Copperisespeciallyplentifulinacidic,sandysoils.
Thoughitonlycomprises0.1ppmoftheplant,itisan
importantenzymeactivatorfoundmostlyinthechloroplasts
ofleaves.
ThePollutants
Aluminum
Aluminumisanelementthatisnotusedinsignificant
amountsbyplants.Insoils,itimmobilizesphosphorousand
generallyincreasestheacidityandconcentrationofcations
(includingtheotherelementsanalyzedinthisstudy).Like
mostelements,aluminumbecomestoxicabovecertain
concentrationsitispoisonoustosomeplantsabove1ppm
andtomostplantsabove15ppm.
Lead
Leadcomplexeswithorganicmatterinthesoiland
accumulatesincertainorganictissuesofplants.Inhigh
enoughconcentrations,itcancausebraindamagein
humans.Biomassisnotasignificantsinkforleadandmost
isfoundintheforestfloorandunderlyingmineralsoil
(SiccamaandSmith1978Siccamaet.al.,1980Smithand
Siccama,1981HeinrichsandMayer1980).Formore
informationaboutcurrentscientificknowledgeoflead's
geochemicalbehavior,pleaseseethebackgroundresearch
intheintroduction.
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