Environmental impact of two organic amendments on sorption and mobility of propachlor in soils

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to understand the sorption–desorption characteristics of propachlor in three types of soils with added solid organic matters and the effect of solid organic matters on propachlor mobilization in soil microstructures. Three soil types, Eutric gleysols (EG), Hap udic cambisols (HUC), and Haplic alisol (HA), along with the lakebed sludge (SL) and pig manure compost (PMC), were used in the study. The sorption and desorption experiments were carried out using the standard batch equilibration method. Soil column leaching was performed with soil samples packed into PVC columns. Soil thin-layer chromatography was performed using soils and water mixture spread on a 0.5–0.7-mm thick layer over 20 × 10-cm glass plates. Propachlor was shown to be more mobile in EG and HUC than in HA. Application of PMC and SL to soils affected the propachlor mobilization in the soils. Using batch experiment, soil column, and soil thin-layer chromatography, we showed that addition of SL and PMC increased the sorption and decreased desorption of propachlor in the soils. Addition of PMC and SL reduced the total concentration of propachlor in the soil leachate and migration of propachlor in the soil profiles. Physicochemical properties of the three soils were analyzed and showed that the content of organic carbon (in percentage) was higher in Haplic alisol than in Eutric gleysols and Hap udic cambisols. The soil organic matter played critical roles in modifying the absorption and mobility of organic chemicals (e.g., herbicide and contaminants) in soil ecosystem.