title: Historical arsenic contamination of soil due to long-term phosphate fertiliser applications.
abstract: Archived samples from the Park Grass Experiment, established in 1856, were analysed to determine the impacts of long-term phosphate fertiliser applications on arsenic concentrations in soil and herbage. In plots receiving 35 kg P ha(-1) annually (+P), topsoil As concentrations almost doubled from an initial value of ∼10 mg kg(-1) during 1888-1947 and remained stable thereafter. The phosphate fertilisers used before 1948 contained 401-1575 mg As kg(-1), compared to 1.6-20.3 mg As kg(-1) in the later samples. Herbage samples from the +P plots collected during 1888-1947 contained significantly more As than those from the -P plots, but later samples did not differ significantly. Mass-balance calculations show that the increase in soil As can be explained by the As input from P fertiliser applications before 1948. The results demonstrate that the P fertilisers used on the Park Grass Experiment before 1948 caused substantial As contamination of the soil.
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK.
authors.forename: Tom N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Hartley
authors.forename: Andy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.forename: Steve P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.forename: Fang-Jie
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010710:Phosphates / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D010710:Phosphates; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; Herbage; Phosphate fertiliser; Soil contamination