Abstract
Phosphatic fertilizers contain appreciable concentrations of cadmium (Cd) which may elevate the Cd concentrations of soils and crops, yet the impact of Cd on poorly buffered Western Australian soils is not known. We measured soil Cd, P and Zn concentrations at different depths and with total (mixed acid) and partial extractants (CaCl2, EDTA and HCl) at sites with a known phosphate fertilizer history. Accumulation of Cd in soils where P fertilizers had been applied varied greatly, with the Cd content of fertilized soils generally having significantly higher Cd contents than for unfertilized soils. In a ferruginous sandy loam, the highest concentrations of Cd were in the top 2 cm and these concentrations increased with increasing amounts of fertilizer application. A gravelly lateritic soil in an orchard contained 3.6 mg Cd kg-1, which was 20-fold higher than the equivalent unfertilized soil. Very sandy horticultural soils which are characteristic of Western Australia did not have higher exchangeable Cd, and showed small increases in total Cd, despite the high amounts of phosphatic fertilizers applied. The largest proportional increases in soil Cd were generally for analyses using partial extractants rather than for total Cd.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson, A.: 1977, ‘Heavy metals in Swedish soils: on their retention, distribution and amounts’, Swedish J. Agricult. Res. 7, 7–20.
Bettenay, E.: 1983, ‘Western Region (II)’, in: CSIRO Division of Soils (ed.), Soils: an Australian Viewpoint, CSIRO/Academic Press, Melbourne/London, pp. 179–188.
Brehler, B., Wakita, H. and Schmitt, R. A.: 1970, ‘Cadmium’, in: K. H. Wedepohl, C. W. Correns, D. M. Shaw, K. K. Turekain and J. Zemann (eds), Handbook of Geochemistry, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 48-A-1 to 48-O-1.
Bureau of Rural Resources,: 1989, Sources of Cadmium in Products of Agriculture and Fisheries. Attachment 1, Australian Agricultural Council: Standing Committee on Agriculture, Melbourne.
Churchward, H. M. and McArthur, W. M.: 1980, ‘Landforms and soils of the Darling System, Western Australia’, Atlas of Natural Resources, Darling System, Western Australia, Department of Conservation and Environment, Government Printer, Perth.
Friberg, L., Piscator, M., Nordberg, G. F. and Kjellstrom, T.: 1974, ‘Cadmium in the Environment’, CRC Press, Cleveland.
Gerritse, R. G., Wallbrink, P. J. and Murray, A. S.: 1998, ‘Accumulation of phosphorus and heavy metals in the Swan-Canning Estuary, Western Australia’, Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 47, 165–179.
Helyar, K. R. and Porter, W. M.: 1989, ‘Soil Acidification, its Management and the Processes Involved’, in: A. D. Robson (ed.), Soil Acidity and Plant Growth, Academic Press, Sydney, pp. 61–101.
Hilliard, E. P., Coffey, D. and Weston, B.: 1988, ‘Cadmium Accumulation in the Organic Horizons of Some Soils under Permanent Pasture in Victoria’, in: J. Simpson and W. J. Curnow (eds), Cadmium Accumulations in Australian Agriculture: National Symposium, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, pp. 80–84.
Jeng, A. S. and Singh, B. R.: 1995, ‘Cadmium status of soils and plants from a long-term fertility experiment in southeast Norway’, Plant and Soil 175, 67–74.
Lawes Agricultural Trust: 1997, Genstat 5 Release 4.1 (PC/Windows NT). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Mann, S. S. and Rate, A. W.: 1998, ‘Determination of cadmium in soil extracts containing high levels of iron and aluminium by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry’, Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 29, 2725–2737.
Mann, S. S. and Ritchie, G. S. P.: 1993, ‘The influence of pH on the forms of cadmium in four West Australian soils’, Austral. J. Soil Res. 31, 255–270.
McArthur, W. M.: 1991, Reference Soils of South-Western Australia. Department of Agriculture, Western Australia/Australian Society of Soil Science Inc., Perth, Australia, 265 pp.
McLaughlin, M. J., Tiller, K. G., Naidu, R. and Stevens, D. P.: 1996, ‘Review: The behaviour and environmental impact of contaminants in fertilizers’, Austral. J. Soil Res. 34, 1–54.
Miller, W. P., McFee, W. W. and Kelly, J. M.: 1983, ‘Mobility and retention of heavy metals in sandy soils’, J. Environ. Qual. 12, 579–584.
Mulla, D. J., Page, A. L. and Ganje, T. J.: 1980, ‘Cadmium bioaccumulations and bioavailability in soils from long-term phosphorus fertilization’, J. Environ. Qual. 9, 408–412.
Norrish, K. and Pickering, J. G.: 1983, ‘Clay Minerals’, in: CSIRO Division of Soils (ed.), Soils: an Australian Viewpoint, CSIRO/Academic Press, Melbourne/London, pp. 281–308.
Northcote, K. H.: 1979, ‘A Factual Key for the Recognition of Australian Soils’, Rellim Technical Publications, Glenside, South Australia, 124 pp.
Rothbaum, H. P., Goguel, R. L., Johnston, A. E. and Mattingly, G. E. G.: 1986, ‘Cadmium accumulation in soils from long-continued applications of superphosphate’, J. Soil Sci. 37, 99–107.
Semu, E. and Singh, B. R.: 1996, ‘Accumulation of heavy metals in soils and plants after long-term use of fertilizers and fungicides in Tanzania’, Fert. Res. 44, 241–248.
Singh, B.: 1991, ‘Mineralogical and Chemical Characteristics of Soils from South-western Australia’, PhD Thesis, Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, School of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, 231 pp.
Taylor, M. D.: 1997, ‘Accumulation of cadmium derived from fertilisers in New Zealand soils’, Sci. Tot. Environ. 208, 123–126.
Whitten, M. G. and Ritchie, G. S. P.: 1991, ‘Calcium chloride extractable cadmium as an estimate of cadmium uptake by subterranean clover’, Austral. J. Soil Res. 29, 215–221.
Williams, C. H. and David, D. J.: 1973, ‘The effect of superphosphate on the cadmium content of soils and plants’, Austral. J. Soil Res. 11, 43–56.
Wong, M. H.: 1985, ‘Heavy metal contamination of soils and crops from auto traffic, sewage sludge, pig manure and chemical fertilizer’, Agricult. Ecosyst. Environ. 13, 139–149.
Yeomans, J. C. and Bremner, J. M.: 1988, ‘A rapid and precise method for routine determination of organic carbon in soil’, Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 19, 1467–1476.
Zachara, J. M., Smith, S. C., Resch, C. T. and Cowan, C. E.: 1992, ‘Cadmium sorption to soil separates containing layer silicates and iron and aluminium oxides’, Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 56, 1074–1084.
Ziper, C., Komarneni, S. and Baker, D. E.: 1988, ‘Specific cadmium sorption in relation to the crystal chemistry of clay minerals’, Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 52, 49–53.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mann, S.S., Rate, A.W. & Gilkes, R.J. Cadmium Accumulation in Agricultural Soils in Western Australia. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 141, 281–297 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021300228019
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021300228019