Abstract:
Determining the content and absorption by crops of germanium (Ge) in soils of cultivated land holds great significance for the development and utilization of Ge in the land, as well as the scientific seed selection for the land. However, few studies on the Ge element in soils of cultivated land in Qixingguan District have been reported. Based on the data from a project of the geochemical investigation and evaluation of the land quality in the district, this study made statistics of geochemical parameters such as the Ge content and analyzed the geochemical characteristics of Ge in soils and the absorption of Ge by crops. The results show that the soils of cultivated land in Qixingguan District exhibit a Ge content ranging from (0.86~2.48)×10
-6 (average: 1.74×10
-6), which is equivalent to the background value of Ge in China. Based on the geostatistical analysis, this study determined that Ge-rich cultivated land covers an area of 65 853.54 hm
2, accounting for 47.41% of the total cultivated land in the district, and is primarily distributed in the northwestern and southwestern portions. The biological absorption coefficients (
Ax) to Ge in soils by crops are all below 1%, suggesting an extremely low absorption level. This study explored the causes of Ge enrichment in the soils and the environmental factors affecting Ge absorption by crops using methods such as correlation analysis, drawing the following conclusions: ① The Ge content in soils is principally governed by soil parent materials, accompanied by the influence of pedogenetic weathering process for soil formation. These factors, coupled with high organic matter content and slightly acidic soil, contribute to the Ge enrichment in the cultivated land of Qixingguan District; ② The correlation between
Ax and pH is slightly negative in acidic soils but positive in neutral to alkaline soils, implying that slightly acidic soil reduces the absorption of Ge by crops in the study area.