Speciation Variation and Bio-Activation of Soil Heavy Metals (Cd and Cr) in Rice-Rape Rotation Lands in Karst Regions

Abstract

Heavy metals in soil are in a high background state in Karst areas, and agricultural activities will affect the bioactivity of heavy metals. The heavy metal (Cd and Cr) bioactivity and their activation effects in rice-rape rotation lands in Karst areas were studied based on field experiments and laboratory analysis, and the influencing factors of heavy metal activity were analyzed based on the physical and chemical properties of soil. The results suggest that the residual fraction was the largest and the exchangeable fraction was the smallest for both Cr and Cd in rice-rape rotation lands in Karst areas. During the rice-rape rotation process, Cd and Cr tended to be released from the residual fraction and transformed into the other four fractions. The fractions with high bioactivity, including the exchangeable fraction and carbonate fraction, increased to different degrees. Rice-rape rotation could activate the activity of soil Cd and Cr in Karst areas. It is also revealed that the activity of soil Cd and Cr in Karst areas was closely associated with soil pH and electric potential (Eh). In the 0–20 cm soil layer, Cr showed a significant negative correlation with pH (r = −0.69, p < 0.05), while both Cr and Cd showed significant negative correlations with Eh, and the correlation coefficients were −0.85 (p < 0.01) and −0.83 (p < 0.01), respectively. In the 20–40 cm soil layer, Cr showed significant negative correlations with Eh, and the correlation coefficient was −0.95 (p < 0.01). No significant correlation between the activity of soil Cd and Cr and soil mechanical composition was observed. This study revealed that special attention should be paid to changes in pH and Eh in consideration of heavy metal activity in the rice-rape rotation process.