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Uranium Budget and Leaching in Swiss Agricultural Systems

Bigalke, Moritz; Imseng, Martin; Schneider, Stephan; Schwab, Lorenz; Wiggenhauser, Matthias; Keller, Armin; Müller, Michael; Frossard, Emmanuel; Wilcke, Wolfgang ORCID iD icon 1
1 Institut für Geographie und Geoökologie (IFGG), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Abstract:

Many mineral P fertilizers contain toxic uranium (U) in high concentrations. When the fertilizers are applied to agricultural sites, U can either accumulate in the soil or leach to ground and surface waters. We analyzed the U fluxes at three arable and three grassland agricultural sites on the Swiss plateau for 1 year. We calculated all inputs and outputs to the soils, modeled the speciation of U in the soil solution and investigated the possible leaching of U along preferential flow paths. We found that all sites showed positive U budgets (+0.9–6.6 g ha$^{-1}$ y$^{-1}$), indicating an accumulation of U. However, the accumulation of U was low and a doubling of U concentration in the surface soil would need 850–2,660 years assuming today’s U fluxes. Mineral P fertilizers were the quantitatively most important input, followed by manure application and mineral weathering (only important in the soils developed on limestone). While at sites with slightly acidic pH only little U (<0.01 μg L$^{-1}$) was leached, the U leaching increased at neutral pH values, because of the formation of carbonato-U complexes. In all soil solutions, the U concentrations (≤0.8 μg L$^{-1}$) were below legal threshold values and comparable to local drinking and surface waters. ... mehr


Verlagsausgabe §
DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000122156
Veröffentlicht am 27.07.2020
Originalveröffentlichung
DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.00054
Scopus
Zitationen: 14
Web of Science
Zitationen: 12
Dimensions
Zitationen: 13
Cover der Publikation
Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Geographie und Geoökologie (IFGG)
KIT-Zentrum Klima und Umwelt (ZKU)
Publikationstyp Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Publikationsjahr 2020
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator ISSN: 2296-665X
KITopen-ID: 1000122156
Erschienen in Frontiers in Environmental Science
Verlag Frontiers Media SA
Band 8
Seiten Art. Nr.: 54
Vorab online veröffentlicht am 05.06.2020
Schlagwörter uranium, metal flux, metal leaching, agriculture, mineral P fertilizer
Nachgewiesen in Scopus
Web of Science
Dimensions
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