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Notes: Abstract. Cashew soils of South Eastern Tanzania become acidified due to sulphur used for controlling powdery mildew disease (Oidium anacardii Noack). The buffering capacity of surface and subsurface horizons of 35 soil profiles of major cashew growing areas –- the Makonde plateau, its piedmont and inland plains –- was studied. The buffering capacity of surface and subsurface horizons was strongly correlated with clay content and weakly with organic carbon content. In addition, it was only weakly correlated with total exchangeable bases and available P of the surface horizon, but strongly with soil pH, base saturation and cation exchange capacity of the clay fraction of the subsurface horizon. Highly weathered sandy soils, dominant on the Makonde plateau and common on the Piedmont, had the lowest buffering capacity. Soils from the inland plains had better buffering capacities as they are generally more clayey or are less weathered. The risk of severe acidification and of a decline in productivity of cashew and of food crops is highest on the Makonde plateau. Further development and dissemination of methods which can reduce the use of sulphur are required.

Notes: Spinach plants were grown in hydroponic culture provided with variable limiting amounts of N. During a complete diurnal cycle, growth of the root and shoot parts, as well as levels of soluble and insoluble sugars and of free amino acids, were monitored. No clear relationship could be detected between the level of N feeding and the levels of free sugars and amino acids. Analysis of variance revealed that the variances in the relative growth rates of plant root and shoot could be correlated with the levels of sugars and amino acids. Root amino acid concentration could be correlated with shoot amino acid concentration and root sugar concentration. No relationship was found between the variances in root and shoot free sugar concentrations.

Notes: Spinach plants (Spinacia oleracea L.) were grown hydroponically in fixed environmental conditions either at full nitrate availability (11·8mol m-3) or at a suboptimum relative nitrate addition rate of 0·20d-1, 0·15d-1 or 0·10d-1 respectively, the other nutrients being adequately provided. The relative growth rate (RGR) of the plants varied significantly with the nutrition treatment and decreased during development in all treatments. The concentration of reduced nitrogen in the plants grown at full nitrate availability did not change significantly during the experimental growth period and nitrate accumulation was substantial. After an adaptation period, the concentration of reduced nitrogen in the plants at the suboptimum nitrate addition rates increased during growth and was lowest at the lowest relative nitrate addition rate. Nitrate uptake was almost complete in the suboptimum treatments and nitrate accumulation was negligible as long as the concentration of reduced nitrogen was below 2·0 mmol (g dry weight)-1. The RGR of all plants was proportional to the concentration of reduced nitrogen in the plant minus a minimal tissue concentration required for growth. However, the proportionality factor was inversely related to the plant mass. This relationship was summarized in an empirical model which explained 98·7% of the variance of the dry weight (log scale) data of all treatments at all harvests. The model was compared with other growth models found in the literature. The shoot/root weight ratio increased from 2 to 4 if nitrate provision was not limiting, and initially, this ratio decreased at suboptimum nitrate provision but increased at higher growth stages. Possible explanations of the dynamics of dry matter partitioning are discussed in relation to models.

Notes: The prediction of the mobility of arsenic (As) is crucial for predicting risks in soils contaminated with As. The objective of this study is to predict the distribution of As between solid and solution in soils based on soil properties and the fraction of As in soil that is reversibly adsorbed. We studied adsorption of As(V) in suspensions at radiotrace concentrations for 30 uncontaminated soils (pH 4.4–6.6). The solid–liquid distribution coefficient of As (Kd) varied from 14 to 4430 l kg−1. The logarithm of the concentration of oxalate-extractable Fe explained 63% of the variation in log Kd; by introducing the logarithm of the concentration of oxalate-extractable P in the regression model, 85% of the variation in log Kd is explained. Double labelling experiments with 73As(V) and 32P(V) showed that the As to P adsorption selectivity coefficient decreased from 3.1 to 0.2 with increasing degree of P saturation of the amorphous oxides. The addition of As(V) (0–6 mmol kg−1) reduced the Kd of 73As up to 17-fold, whereas corresponding additions of P(V) had smaller effects. These studies suggest that As(V) is adsorbed to amorphous oxides in soils and that sites of adsorption vary in their selectivity in respect of As and P. The concentration of isotopically exchangeable As in 27 contaminated soils (total As 13–1080 mg kg−1) was between 1.2 and 19% (mean 8.2%) of its total concentration, illustrating that a major fraction of As is fixed. We propose a two-site model of competitive As(V)–P(V) sorption in which amorphous Fe and Al oxides represent the site capacity and the isotopically exchangeable As represents the adsorbed phase. This model is fitted to 73As adsorption data of uncontaminated soils and explains 69% of the variation of log Kd in these soils. The log Kd in contaminated soils predicted using this two-site model correlated well with the observed log Kd (r = 0.75). We conclude that solubility of As is related to the available binding sites on amorphous oxides and to the fraction of As that is fixed.

Notes: The use of ultrasonic energy for the dispersion of aggregates in studies of soil organic matter (SOM) fractionation entails a risk of redistribution of particulate organic matter (POM) to smaller particle-size fractions. As the mechanical strength of straw also decreases with increasing state of decomposition, it can be expected that not all POM will be redistributed to the same extent during such dispersion. Therefore, we studied the redistribution of POM during ultrasonic dispersion and fractionation as a function of (i) dispersion energy applied and (ii) its state of decomposition. Three soils were dispersed at different ultrasonic energies (750, 1500 and 2250 J g−1 soil) or with sodium carbonate and were fractionated by particle size. Fraction yields were compared with those obtained with a standard particle-size analysis. Undecomposed or incubated (for 2, 4 or 6 months) 13C-enriched wheat straw was added to the POM fraction (0.25–2 mm) of one of the soils before dispersion and fractionation. Dispersion with sodium carbonate resulted in the weakest dispersion and affected the chemical properties of the fractions obtained through its high pH and the introduction of carbonate. The mildest ultrasonic dispersion treatment (750 J g−1) did not result in adequate soil dispersion as too much clay was still recovered in the larger fractions. Ultrasonic dispersion at 1500 J g−1 soil obtained a nearly complete dispersion down to the clay level (0.002 mm), and it did not have a significant effect on the total amount of carbon and nitrogen in the POM fractions. The 2250 J g−1 treatment was too destructive for the POM fractions since it redistributed up to 31 and 37%, respectively, of the total amount of carbon and nitrogen in these POM fractions to smaller particle-size fractions. The amount of 13C-enriched wheat straw that was redistributed to smaller particle-size fractions during ultrasonic dispersion at 1500 J g−1 increased with increasing incubation time of this straw. Straw particles incubated for 6 months were completely transferred to smaller particle-size fractions. Therefore, ultrasonic dispersion resulted in fractionation of POM, leaving only the less decomposed particles in this fraction. The amounts of carbon and nitrogen transferred to the silt and clay fractions were, however, negligible compared with the total amounts of carbon and nitrogen in these fractions. It is concluded that ultrasonic dispersion seriously affects the amount and properties of POM fractions. However, it is still considered as an acceptable and appropriate method for the isolation and study of SOM associated with silt and clay fractions.

Notes: Both P and Al MAS NMR spectra of samples of excessively fertilized sandy soil provided information about the P and Al speciation. Peak deconvolution was used to interpret reliably and quantitatively the 31P NMR spectra recorded. Most of the P was found to be associated with Al. Part of the P exhibited a chemical shift that could be attributed to octocalcium phosphate, amorphous calcium phosphate or apatite. Apatite has, however, never been reported to occur in sandy soils of temperate climates. A dithionite extraction used to remove interfering Fe from the samples also removed most of the octahedral Al-P phase. After oxalate extraction more than 99% of the original P signal disappeared. About 7.5 to 11 % of the total oxalate extractable P of the excessively fertilized soil was present as a Ca-P phase, even though these soils are slightly acid to acid. The estimated size of the Ca-P phase roughly corresponds to the size of the labile P pool of these soils, as assessed in long-term batch desorption experiments. It still remains unclear whether the labile P pool should be attributed solely to such a Ca-P phase.