Zinc Desorption of Calcareous Soils as Influenced by Applied Zinc and Phosphorus and Described by Eight Kinetic Models

Abstract

The activity of zinc (Zn) ions in the soil solution bathing plant roots is controlled by the simultaneous equilibrium of several competing reactions, such as surface exchange, specific bonding, lattice penetration, precipitation reactions, and the processes leading to the desorption of surface and lattice-bound ions. Desorption of Zn in 15 calcareous soils from southern Iran, treated with 10 mg Zn kg−1 soil as zinc sulfate (ZnSO4·7H2O) and 100 mg phosphorus (P) kg−1 soil as calcium phosphate [Ca(H2PO4)2H2O] and then equilibrated and extracted with diethylentriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), was studied in this experiment. The results were fitted to zero-order, first-order, second-order, third-order, parabolic diffusion, two-constant rate, Elovich, and simple Elovich kinetic models. Two-constant rate, simple Elovich, and parabolic diffusion models were determined to best describe Zn-desorption kinetics. Zinc desorption increased as Zn was applied but decreased with applied P.