Selenium Species and Fractions in the Rock–Soil–Plant Interface of Maize ( Zea mays L.) Grown in a Natural Ultra-Rich Se Environment

Diego Armando Pinzon-Nuñez, Oliver Wiche, Zhengyu Bao, Shuyun Xie, Bolun Fan, Wenkai Zhang, Molan Tang () and Huan Tian ()
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Diego Armando Pinzon-Nuñez: Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Oliver Wiche: Biology/Ecology Unit, Institute of Biosciences, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
Zhengyu Bao: Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Shuyun Xie: School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Bolun Fan: Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Wenkai Zhang: Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Molan Tang: Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Huan Tian: Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: Selenium (Se) enrichments or deficiency in maize ( Zea mays L.), one of the world’s most important staple foods and livestock feeds, can significantly affect many people’s diets, as Se is essential though harmful in excess. In particular, Se-rich maize seems to have been one of the factors that led to an outbreak of selenosis in the 1980s in Naore Valley in Ziyang County, China. Thus, this region’s geological and pedological enrichment offers some insight into the behavior of Se in naturally Se-rich crops. This study examined total Se and Se species in the grains, leaves, stalks, and roots of 11 maize plant samples, Se fractions of soils around the rhizosphere, and representative parent rock materials from Naore Valley. The results showed that total Se concentrations in the collected samples were observed in descending order of soil > leaf > root > grain > stalk. The predominant Se species detected in maize plants was SeMet. Inorganic Se forms, mainly Se(VI), decreased from root to grain, and were possibly assimilated into organic forms. Se(IV) was barely present. The natural increases of Se concentration in soils mainly affected leaf and root dry-weight biomasses of maize. In addition, Se distribution in soils markedly correlated with the weathered Se-rich bedrocks. The analyzed soils had lower Se bioavailability than rocks, with Se accumulated predominantly as recalcitrant residual Se. Thus, the maize plants grown in these natural Se-rich soils may uptake Se mainly from the oxidation and leaching of the remaining organic-sulfide-bound Se fractions. A viewpoint shift from natural Se-rich soils as menaces to possibilities for growing Se-rich agricultural products is also discussed in this study.

Keywords: selenium; corn; fractions; species; HPLC-ICPMS; lower Cambrian (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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