Soil redox-pH stability of arsenic species and its influence on arsenic uptake by rice

Abstract

Arsenic absorption by rice (Oryza sativa, L.) in relation to As chemical form present in soil solution was examined. Rice plants were grown in soil suspensions equilibrated under selected conditions of redox and pH, affecting arsenic solubility and speciation. A decrease in pH led to higher dissolved arsenic concentrations. When the soil redox potential dropped below 0 mV, most of the arsenic was present as As(III). Under more oxidizing conditions both As(III) and As(V) are present. Chemical speciation of As in the watersoluble fraction affected its phytoavailability. Most indigenous arsenic taken up by the plants remained in the root. Plant arsenic availability increased with increasing arsenic concentration in solution (lower soil pH) and with increasing amounts of soluble As(III) (lower soil redox). We also studied the uptake of monomethyl arsenic acid (MMAA), a widely used defoliant and herbicide, as affected by soil redox-pH condition. Amended MMAA was approximately two times more phytoavailable than the indigenous inorganic As forms and increased with decreasing pH and redox.