Arctic and boreal ecosystems are experiencing pronounced warming that is accelerating decomposition of soil organic matter and releasing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Future carbon storage in these ecosystems depends on the balance between microbial decomposition and primary production, both of which can be regulated by nutrients such as phosphorus. Phosphorus cycling in tundra and boreal regions is often assumed to occur through biological pathways with little interaction with soil minerals; that is, phosphate released from organic molecules is rapidly assimilated by plants or microorganisms. In contrast to this prevailing conceptual model, we use sequential extractions and spectroscopic techniques to demonstrate that iron (oxyhydr)oxides sequester approximately half of soil phosphate in organic soils from four arctic and boreal sites. Iron (III) (oxyhydr)oxides accumulated in shallow soils of low‐lying, saturated areas where circumneutral pH and the presence of a redox interface promoted iron oxidation and hydrolysis. Soils enriched in short‐range ordered iron oxyhydroxides, which are susceptible to dissolution under anoxic conditions, had high phosphate sorption capacities and maintained low concentrations of soluble phosphate relative to soils containing mostly organic‐bound iron or crystalline iron oxides. Thus, substantial quantities of phosphorus in these organic soils were associated with minerals that could reduce bioavailability but potentially also serve as phosphorus sources under anoxic conditions. The implication of this finding is that mineral surfaces effectively compete with biological processes for phosphate and must be considered as a nutrient regulator in these sensitive ecosystems.
Total iron and total lead concentrations were correlated in water that had stagnated in laboratory‐scale experiments with sections of 10 harvested lead service lines (LSLs) from Providence, Rhode Island. One of these sections had much greater lead release and pH decrease during stagnation, and the inner surface of this service line had a thick coating of iron oxide scale. The iron‐rich scale was composed of coarse‐grained iron oxides (lepidocrocite and magnetite) covered with a thin lead‐bearing layer (hydrocerussite). Complementary batch experiments with pure iron oxides found that their surfaces accelerated the oxidation of Pb(II) from hydrocerussite, which produced PbO2(s)and decreased the pH. While the findings presented are for LSLs from Providence, the co‐occurrence of iron oxides and lead corrosion products is widespread. The results highlight the importance of considering iron corrosion when evaluating processes that control lead concentrations in tap water.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10187551
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- AWWA Water Science
- Volume:
- 2
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2577-8161
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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