Abstract
Purpose
Subsurface soil acidity in conjunction with aluminium (Al3+) toxicity is a major limitation to agricultural production globally. The conventional use of surface-applied lime is often insufficient at correcting subsurface acidity; therefore, new practices and ameliorants are required.
Methods
This 3-month leaching experiment investigated whether animal wastes and other novel ameliorants in combination with lime could improve alkalinity movement, leading to greater amelioration of acid subsurface soil layers compared with lime alone. Five ameliorants (mature dairy compost, vegetable garden compost, poultry litter, potassium humate and gypsum) were added at a rate of 18 mg dry matter g−1 to the topsoil layer either without or with lime (target pH 5.5).
Results
All ameliorants with lime improved alkalinity movement below the amended layer (0–10 cm), with pH increases of 0.03–0.10 units at 1 month and 0.02–0.20 units at 3 months. In comparison, the Al3+ concentrations in 10–12-cm and 12–15-cm layers were significantly decreased by 2–5.5 μg g−1. With lime, the improvements in alkalinity movement with ameliorants were in the order of gypsum > vegetable garden compost > potassium humate > poultry litter > mature dairy compost. Without lime, each amendment increased soil pH in the subsoil, with their effectiveness decreasing in the order of poultry litter > vegetable garden compost > mature dairy compost > gypsum > potassium humate.
Conclusion
Some organic amendments are effective in addressing subsoil acidity. When combined with lime, their additive effects are limited.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blum J, Caires EF, Ayub RA, Da Fonseca AF, Sozim M, Fauate M (2011) Soil chemical attributes and grape yield as affected by gypsum application in southern Brazil. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 42:1434–1446. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2011.577861
Butterly CR, Baldock JA, Tang C (2013) The contribution of crop residues to changes in soil pH under field conditions. Plant Soil 366:185–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1422-1
Butterly CR, Costello B, Lauricella D, Sale P, Li G, Tang C (2020) Alkalinity movement down acid soil columns was faster when lime and plant residues were combined than when either was applied separately. Eur J Soil Sci Adv. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12945
Caires EF, Barth G, Garbuio FJ (2006) Lime application in the establishment of a no-till system for grain crop production in Southern Brazil. Soil Tillage Res 89:3–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2005.06.006
Caires EF, Blum J, Barth G, Garbuio FJ, Kusman MT (2003) Changes in chemical soil characteristics and soybean response to lime and gypsum applications in a no-tillage system. Rev Brasileira Ciênc Solo 27:275–286. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-06832003000200008
Chen RF, Zhang FL, Zhang QM, Sun QB, Dong XY, Shen RF (2012) Aluminium-phosphorus interactions in plants growing on acid soils: does phosphorus always alleviate aluminium toxicity? J Sci Food Agric 92:995–1000. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.4566
Conyers MK, Poile GJ, Cullis BR (1991) Lime responses by barley as related to available soil aluminium and manganese. Aust J Agric Res 42:379–390. https://doi.org/10.1071/ar9910379
Ernani PR, Miquelluti DJ, Fontoura SMV, Kaminski J, Almeida JA (2006) Downward movement of soil cations in highly weathered soils caused by addition of gypsum. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 37:571–586. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103620500449443
Eswaran H, Reich P, Beinroth F (1997) Global distribution of soils with acidity. In: Moniz AC (ed) Plant-soil interactions at low pH. Brazilian Soil Science Society, Sao Paulo, pp 159–164
Farina MPW, Channon P, Thibaud GR (2000) A comparison of strategies for ameliorating subsoil acidity: II. Long-term soil effects. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:652–658. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2000.642652x
Hass A, Gonzalez JM, Lima IM, Godwin HW, Halvorson JJ, Boyer DG (2012) Chicken manure biochar as liming and nutrient source for acid Appalachian soil. J Environ Qual 41:1096–1106. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2011.0124
Haynes RJ, Judge A (2008) Influence of surface-applied poultry manure on topsoil and subsoil acidity and salinity: a leaching column study. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 171:370–377. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.200700167
Haynes RJ, Mokolobate MS (2001) Amelioration of Al toxicity and P deficiency in acid soils by additions of organic residues: a critical review of the phenomenon and the mechanisms involved. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 59:47–63. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1009823600950
Helyar KR, Cregan PD, Godyn DL (1990) Soil acidity in New South Wales - current pH values and estimates of acidification rates. Aust J Soil Res 28:523–537. https://doi.org/10.1071/Sr9900523
Hue NV (1992) Correcting soil acidity of a highly weathered Ultisol with chicken manure and sewage sludge. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 23:241–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103629209368586
Hue NV, Licudine DL (1999) Amelioration of subsoil acidity through surface application of organic manures. J Environ Qual 28:623–632. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1999.00472425002800020028x
Imbufe IU, Patti AF, Surapaneni A, Jackson R, Webb JA (2004) Effects of brown coal derived materials on pH and electrical conductivity of an acidic vineyard soil. In: Singh B (ed) SuperSoil 2004: 3rd Australian New Zealand Soils Conference. University of Sydney, Gosford, pp 5–9
Isbell RF (1996) The Australian soil classification. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne
Kinraide TB (1991) Identity of the rhizotoxic aluminium species. Plant Soil 134:167–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00010729
Kochian LV, Hoekenga OA, Piñeros MA (2004) How do crop plants tolerate acid soils? Mechanisms of aluminum tolerance and phosphorous efficiency. Annu Rev Plant Biol 55:459–493. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.arplant.55.031903.14165
Lauricella D, Butterly CR, Clark GJ, Sale PWG, Li G, Tang C (2020) Effectiveness of innovative organic amendments in acid soils depends on their ability to supply P and alleviate Al and Mn toxicity in plants. J Soils Sediments. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02721-0
Li GD, Conyers MK, Helyar KR, Lisle CJ, Poile GJ, Cullis BR (2019) Long-term surface application of lime ameliorates subsurface soil acidity in the mixed farming zone of south-eastern Australia. Geoderma 338:236–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.12.003
Liu J, Hue NV (2001) Amending subsoil acidity by surface applications of gypsum, lime, and composts. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 32:2117–2132. https://doi.org/10.1081/css-120000273
Materechera SA, Mkhabela TS (2002) The effectiveness of lime, chicken manure and leaf litter ash in ameliorating acidity in a soil previously under black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) plantation. Bioresour Technol 85:9–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-8524(02)00065-2
Mclay CDA, Ritchie GSP, Porter WM, Cruse A (1994) Amelioration of subsurface acidity in sandy soils in low rainfall regions. II Changes to soil solution composition following the surface application of gypsum and lime. Aust J Soil Res 32:847–865. https://doi.org/10.1071/sr9940847
Mokolobate MS, Haynes RJ (2002) Comparative liming effect of four organic residues applied to an acid soil. Biol Fertil Soils 35:79–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-001-0439-z
Nahm KH (2003) Evaluation of the nitrogen content in poultry manure. World’s Poultry Sci J 59:77–88. https://doi.org/10.1079/wps20030004
Naramabuye FX, Haynes RJ (2006) Effect of organic amendments on soil pH and Al solubility and use of laboratory indices to predict their liming effect. Soil Sci 171:754–763. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ss.0000228366.17459.19
Peiris D, Patti AF, Jackson WR, Marshall M, Smith CJ (2002) The use of Ca-modified, brown-coal-derived humates and fulvates for treatment of soil acidity. Aust J Soil Res 40:1171–1186. https://doi.org/10.1071/Sr01032
Quaggio JA, Vanraij B, Gallo PB, Mascarenhas HAA (1993) Soybean responses to lime and gypsum and ion leaching into the soil-profile. Pesq Agrop Brasileira 28:375–383
Shen QR, Shen ZG (2001) Effects of pig manure and wheat straw on growth of mung bean seedlings grown in aluminium toxicity soil. Bioresour Technol 76:235–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-8524(00)00109-7
Shujrah AA, Mohd KY, Hussin A, Othman R, Haruna O (2010) Impact of potassium humate on selected chemical properties of an acidic soil. In: Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science: Soil solutions for a changing world. Brisbane, Australia, pp 119–122
Stark JM, Firestone MK (1995) Mechanisms for soil moisture effects on activity of nitrifying bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 61:218–221. https://doi.org/10.1128/Aem.61.1.218-221.1995
Sumner ME, Noble AD (2003) Soil acidification: the world story. In: Rengel Z (ed) Handbook of soil acidity. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 1–28
Tang C, Weligama C, Sale P (2013) Subsurface soil acidification in farming systems: its possible causes and management options. In: Xu J, Sparks D (eds) Molecular environmental soil science. Progress in Soil Science. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 389–412
Tang C, Rengel Z, Diatloff E, Gazey C (2003) Responses of wheat and barley to liming on a sandy soil with subsoil acidity. Field Crop Res 80:235–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4290(02)00192-2
Tang C, Yu Q (1999) Impact of chemical composition of legume residues and initial soil pH on pH change of a soil after residue incorporation. Plant Soil 215:29–38. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1004704018912
Tian D, Niu S (2015) A global analysis of soil acidification caused by nitrogen addition. Environmental Research Letters 10:024019. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/2/024019
Van der Watt HVH, Barnard RO, Cronje IJ, Dekker J, Croft GJB, Van der Walt MM (1991) Amelioration of subsoil acidity by application of a coal-derived calcium fulvate to the soil surface. Nature 350:146–148. https://doi.org/10.1038/350146a0
Von Uexküll HR, Mutert E (1995) Global extent, development and economic impact of acid soils. Plant Soil 171:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/Bf00009558
Wang X, Tang C, Mahony S, Baldock JA, Butterly CR (2015) Factors affecting the measurement of soil pH buffer capacity: approaches to optimize the methods. Eur J Soil Sci 66:53–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12195
Whitten MG, Wong MTF, Rate AW (2000) Amelioration of subsurface acidity in the south-west of Western Australia: downward movement and mass balance of surface-incorporated lime after 2-15 years. Aust J Soil Res 38:711–728. https://doi.org/10.1071/Sr99054
Yan F, Schubert S, Mengel K (1996) Soil pH increase due to biological decarboxylation of organic anions. Soil Biol Biochem 28:617–624. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(95)00180-8
Zoca SM, Penn C (2017) Chapter one-an important tool with no instruction manual: a review of gypsum use in agriculture. In: Sparks DL (ed) Advances in agronomy, vol 144. Academic Press, pp 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2017.03.001
Acknowledgements
Thanks are given to Omnia Specialities Australia Pty Ltd. for supplying K-humate (K-Humate S100), the Camperdown Compost Company Pty Ltd. for supplying mature dairy compost and Van Schaik’s Bio Gro Pty Ltd. for supplying vegetable garden compost. We thank Stephen Grylls for organising and allowing access to the Grylls’ Welshpool farm for soil collection.
Funding
This research was supported by Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), Securing Food, Water and the Environment top-up scholarship and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Project: DAN00206 Innovative approaches to managing subsoil acidity in the southern grain region.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Editorial Responsibility: Zhihong Xu
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 296 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lauricella, D., Butterly, C.R., Weng, Z.(. et al. Impact of novel materials on alkalinity movement down acid soil profiles when combined with lime. J Soils Sediments 21, 52–62 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02747-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02747-4