Soil Organic Matter and Phosphate Sorption on Natural and Synthetic Fe Oxides under in Situ Conditions

Iron (Fe) oxides in soils are strong sorbents for environmentally important compounds like soil organic matter (SOM) or phosphate, while sorption under field conditions is still poorly understood. We installed polyvinyl chloride plastic bars which have been coated either with synthetic Fe or manganese (Mn) oxides for 30 days in a redoximorphic soil. A previous study revealed the formation of newly formed ("natural") Fe oxides along the Mn oxide coatings. This enables us to differentiate between sorption occurring onto the surfaces of synthetic versus natural Fe oxides. After removal of the bars, they were analyzed by nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) to study the distribution of Fe (56Fe16O–), SOM (12C14N–), and phosphorus (31P16O2–) at the microscale. Image analysis of individual Fe oxide particles revealed a close association of Fe, SOM, and P resulting in coverage values up to 71%. Furthermore, ion ratios between sorbent (56Fe16O–) and sorbate (12C14N– and 31P16O2–) were smaller along the natural oxides when compared with those for synthetic Fe oxides. We conclude that both natural and synthetic Fe oxides rapidly sequester SOM and P (i.e., within 30 days) but that newly, natural formed Fe oxides sorbe more SOM and P than synthetic Fe oxides.