Evaluation of single extractants for assessing plant availability of rare earth elements in soils

Abstract

The suitability of different extractants for estimating the plant availability of rare earth elements (REEs) in soils was assessed in a greenhouse study. 0.43 M CH₃COOH, 0.01 M CaCl₂, 0.1 M HCl, and DTPA were used as extractants and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as a test crop. Soil samples with diverse chemical and physical properties were collected from 9 different rural regions of China. REEs extracted by different extractants from soils were compared with REEs contents in winter wheat grown on the soils with a statistical analysis. The result of correlation analysis showed that 0.1 M HCl gave the best estimate of plant available REEs in soils, which suggested that 0.1 M HCl could provide valuable information on plant uptake of REEs in soils studied.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.