Characteristics of selenium enrichment and assessment of selenium bioavailability using the diffusive gradients in thin-films technique in seleniferous soils in Enshi, Central China

Abstract Agricultural products from seleniferous areas commonly face problems associated with substantial variation in selenium (Se) concentration, which is mainly caused by the heterogeneity of Se bioavailability in soil. Many studies have assessed the bioavailability of Se and its influencing factors using soil samples treated with exogenous Se. Given the distinctly different characteristics of Se-spiked soils and naturally seleniferous soils, exploring Se bioavailability in naturally seleniferous soils is crucial to the stable production of Se-enriched agricultural products. In this study, we used the classical sequential extraction method to determine the Se fractionation and then applied the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique to assess the Se bioavailability in naturally seleniferous soils. The results indicated that soluble and exchangeable Se fractions with high bioavailability accounted for only 0.7% and 5.1% of total Se, respectively. Both soluble and exchangeable Se concentrations were significantly positively correlated with soil pH (r = 0.329 and 0.262, respectively; P