The chemical composition and ionic strength of soil solutions from New Zealand topsoils

Abstract

In preliminary experiments a centrifuge method for extracting soil solutions was examined. Neither the time nor speed of centrifuging had any effect on the concentrations of cations in soil solution. The concentration of cations increased with decreasing soil moisture content, and NO3, Ca, Mg, and Na concentrations increased with increasing time of storage of freshly collected moist soils. It was concluded that to obtain soil solutions, which accurately reflect the soil solution composition and ionic strength (I) in situ, requires that soil samples are extracted immediately (<24 h) following sampling from the field. Prior equilibration of soil samples, to adjust soil moisture contents, is therefore not valid. The effect of time of sampling and soil type, and the effects of fertilizer and lime applications, on soil solution composition and ionic strength, were measured on freshly collected field moist topsoils. Concentrations of Ca, Mg, K, Na, NH, and NO, were lowest in the winter and highest in the summer. Consequently, there was a marked seasonal variation in ionic strength which ranged from 0.003 to 0.016 mol L-1 (mean, 0.005 s.d. 0.003) over time and soil type. Withholding fertilizer (P, K, S, Ca) for two years had only a minor effect on ionic composition and strength, and liming increased solution Ca, Mg and HCO3, but decreased Al, resulting in a twofold increase in ionic strength. These results suggest that the ionic strength of temperate grassland topsoils in New Zealand lie within the range 0.003-0.016 and are typically 0.005.