Copper content in soils and litter from fruit orchards in Central Chile and its relationship with soil microbial activity

J. Tomás Schoffer, Humberto Aponte, Alexander Neaman, Luz María de la Fuente, Eduardo C. Arellano, Pilar M. Gil and Rosanna Ginocchio
Additional contact information
J. Tomás Schoffer: Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Humberto Aponte: Laboratorio de Ecología Microbiana y Biogeoquímica de Suelos, Instituto de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Animales y Ambientales (ICA3), Universidad de O?Higgins, Rancagua, Chile
Alexander Neaman: Instituto de Ingeniería Agraria y Suelos, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Alimentarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
Luz María de la Fuente: Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Eduardo C. Arellano: Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Pilar M. Gil: Departamento de Fruticultura y Enología, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Rosanna Ginocchio: Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Plant, Soil and Environment, 2022, vol. 68, issue 3, 115-128

Abstract: This study assessed both the soil and litter copper (Cu) levels and their relationships with soil microbial activity, in fruit-tree production areas of central Chile where Cu-based pesticides are intensively sprayed. Samples of soil (0-20 cm depth) and litter from a number of selected orchards (kiwi, table grape, plum, and cherry) were collected and analysed for their Cu content and C-induced soil microbial activity. Results showed that the mean total soil Cu level was 225 mg/kg and soluble soil Cu was less than 0.01% of total soil Cu, as expected from pH values of study soils (range of 6.33 to 7.93). However, leaf litter Cu content was 3-7 times higher than in soil (mean of681 mg/kg). Despite the soil and leaf litter Cu concentrations, no effect was observed on the C-induced soil microbial activity. We conclude that leaf litter exerts a protective role, preventing the entry of Cu into the soil and thus soil microbial toxicity.

Keywords: metals; contamination; bioavailability; MicroRespTM; bioindicator (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/281/2021-PSE.html (text/html)
http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/281/2021-PSE.pdf (application/pdf)
free of charge

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:68:y:2022:i:3:id:281-2021-pse

DOI: 10.17221/281/2021-PSE

Access Statistics for this article

Plant, Soil and Environment is currently edited by Kateřina Součková

More articles in Plant, Soil and Environment from Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Ivo Andrle ().