title: Distribution of soil selenium in China is potentially controlled by deposition and volatilization?
abstract: Elucidating the environmental drivers of selenium (Se) spatial distribution in soils at a continental scale is essential to better understand it's biogeochemical cycling to improve Se transfer into diets. Through modelling Se biogeochemistry in China we found that deposition and volatilization are key factors controlling distribution in surface soil, rather than bedrock-derived Se (<0.1 mg/kg). Wet deposition associated with the East Asian summer monsoon, and dry deposition associated with the East Asian winter monsoon, are responsible for dominant Se inputs into northwest and southeast China, respectively. In Central China the rate of soil Se volatilization is similar to that of Se deposition, suggesting that Se volatilization offsets it's deposition, resulting in negligible net Se input in soil. Selenium in surface soil at Central China is roughly equal to low petrogenic Se, which is the main reason for the presence of the Se poor belt. We suggest that both deposition and volatilization of Se could play a key role in Se balance in other terrestrial environments worldwide.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Guo-Xin
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, David Keir Building, Malone Road, Northern Ireland, BT9 5BN, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Meharg
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Ren'ai Road, No.111, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou 215123, China.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Song-Can
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.|Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Guan
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Zhu