Effect of Liquid Animal Manure Application on the Solubilization of Heavy Metals from Soil

Abstract

The effect of liquid animal manure on heavy metal solubilization in soil has been studied in the laboratory; three different types of experiments were carried out:

1) aerobic and anaerobic incubation of soil/manure mixtures

2) desorption of heavy metals from soil, as affected by manure liquid fraction

3) gel permeation chromatography of soil/manure aqueous extracts to identify components responsible for heavy metal solubilization.

Alf three different approaches showed that complexation involving high molecular weight dissolved organic matter from the soil/manure matrix is (together with pH) the most important driving force for heavy metal solubilization. As a consequence, chemical and microbial processes (e.g. nitrification) that influence dissolved organic matter concentrations in the soil solution, determine the degree of heavy metal solubilization in manured soil.