Abstract

To evaluate the changes in sulphur pools in response to acidic deposition, two studies were made-one in southwest Sweden where podzolic B horizons originally sampled in 1951 were resampled in 1989. At the Norrliden site, northern Sweden, sulphur pools in control plots were compared to plots that had been subjected to H2SO4 application between 1971 and 1976. The results show that in southwest Sweden neither organic S nor extractable SO42- increased significantly over the 38-year period, despite a decreasing pH and a high S deposition. At Norrliden, about 37% of the applied S was still remaining in the upper and central parts of the Bs horizon, most of which was inorganic sulphate. These contrasting results are explained by intrinsic differences in the soil organic carbon status between the sites-in southwest Sweden, organic carbon concentrations were high which inhibited SO42- adsorption. Low organic carbon concentrations and high extractable Fe/Al concentrations promoted SO42- adsorption and caused a low subsequent SO42- desorption rate at the Norrliden site. The results suggest that sulphate adsorption may be an important mechanism which delays the response in soil chemistry to HSO4 deposition, provided that soil organic carbon concentrations are low. Organic S retention was not shown to be an important S retention mechanism in any of the sites studied

Published in

Environmental Pollution
1993, Volume: 81, number: 2, pages: 185-191
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

UKÄ Subject classification

Soil Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0269-7491(93)90085-3

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/69514