Soil Organic Matter Impacts upon Fluxes of Cadmium in Soils Measured using Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films

Abstract

Classical analytical methods limit understanding of the dynamics of geochemical processes in soils. The technique of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) allows the quantification of the mobilization fluxes of traces metals in soils and more specifically the metal supply from the soil's solid phase. Diffusive gradients in thin films, measuring fluxes from soil solids to solutions, were reported in three different cadmium (Cd)–contaminated soils with different levels of soil organic matter (SOM). The soil solution concentration ratio between the labile Cd, determined using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry, and the total Cd obtained by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry was compared. The data suggest that SOM affected the complexation of Cd in the soil solution, and the values obtained by DGT also demonstrated that the sorption of the Cd to the solid phase was also affected. The fluxes of Cd into the DGT were decreased when organic matter was added to the soils but were also decreased when SOM was reduced using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).