Cadmium leaching from some New Zealand pasture soils

Abstract

SummaryCadmium (Cd) inputs and losses from agricultural soils are of great importance because of the potential adverse effects Cd can pose to food quality, soil health and the environment in general. One important pathway for Cd losses from soil systems is by leaching. We investigated loss of Cd from a range of contrasting New Zealand pasture soils that had received Cd predominantly from repeated applications of phosphate fertilizer. Annual leaching losses of Cd ranged between 0.27 and 0.86 g ha–l, which are less than most losses recorded elsewhere. These losses equate to between 5 and 15% of the Cd added to soil through a typical annual application of single superphosphate, which in New Zealand contains on average 280 mg Cd kg−1 P. It appears that Cd added to soil from phosphate fertilizer is fairly immobile and Cd tends to accumulate in the topsoil. The pH of the leachate and the total volume of drainage to some extent control the amount of Cd leached. Additional factors, such as the soil sorption capacity, are also important in controlling Cd movement in these pasture soils. The prediction of the amount of Cd leached using the measured concentrations of Cd in the soil solution and rainfall data resulted in an overestimation of Cd losses. Cadmium concentrations in drainage water are substantially less than the current maximum acceptable value of 3 µg l−1 for drinking water in New Zealand set by the Ministry of Health.