IntroductiontoSoilElements

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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