Chemical imaging of nutrients and contaminants at microscale: Exploring biogeochemical processes and bioavailability hotspots in the soil - plant system
Abstract
Soil is a heterogeneous medium where many processes occur at the same time and at different scales (nm to km2). Various actors such as plants, microorganisms, soil animal as well as site- and soil-specific parameters (climate, biochemical properties) create a very diverse system with numerous, complex interactions. Hotspots in soil are sites with high biogeochemical activity. Examples for hotspots are the small soil volume surrounding plant roots (i.e. the rhizosphere), contamination point sources or fertiliser granules. Hotspots can locally change soil parameters such as pH, nutrient concentration, trace element speciation and microbial activity, creating a diverse zone and parameter gradients. The processes behind these changes are not well understood, as common soil analysis methods such as extractions represent bulk studies and information about small scale heterogeneities is lost. For an accurate risk assessment of contaminants in soil or the evaluation the solubility behaviour of fertiliser products in soil, their interactions with soil and soil habitants need to be known and understood. Non-invasive, innovative 2D-imaging techniques such planar optodes and diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) can reveal spatial heterogeneities at the soil-contaminant or soil-fertiliser interface (e.g. distribution of soluble elements or biogeochemical parameters like pH) at a high resolution and they additionally offer insights in temporal dynamics which provides a more holistic understanding of processes around hotspots in soil. The aim of this dissertation is to gain substantial insights in weathering and dissolution processes around contaminant and fertiliser hotspots in soil by elucidation of pH-dependent solubility patterns around (I) tungsten shots (Work package 1, WP1), (II) phosphorous recycling fertiliser in different soils (WP2) and (III) at the fertiliser-soil-plant root interface (WP3). To develop suitable site remediation strategies or improve fertiliser effectiveness it is essential to understand processes that occur in soil around a contamination or fertiliser hotspots.
keywords Chemical Imaging Soil Plant nutrients Tungsten Bioavailability
Publikationen
Chemical imaging of nutrients and contaminants at the micro-scale: Exploring biogeochemical processes and bioavailability hotspots in the soil – plant
Autoren: Roschitz, C; Wenzel, WW Jahr: 2019
Forschungsbericht (extern. Auftraggeber)
Project staff
Walter Wenzel
Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Walter Wenzel
walter.wenzel@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-91143, 91161
Project Leader
01.11.2018 - 31.12.2022
Christina Hummel
Dipl.-Ing. Christina Hummel
christina.hummel@boku.ac.at
Project Staff
01.11.2018 - 31.12.2022