Influence of organic amendments on copper distribution among particle-size and density fractions in Champagne vineyard soils

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Abstract

The intensive use for over 100 years of copper sulfate (Bordeaux mixture) to fight against mildew in vineyard soils has led to an important, widespread accumulation of Cu (100 to 1500 mg Cu kg−1 soil). In Champagne vineyards, organic amendments are used currently to increase soil fertility and to limit soil erosion. Organic amendments may have a direct effect on the retention of Cu in the soil. To assess the influence of the organic management on the fate of Cu in calcareous Champagne vineyard soils, we studied Cu distribution (1) in the soil profile and (2) among primary soil particles, in vineyard parcels with different amendments. Amendments were oak-bark, vine-shoots and urban compost. The results were compared with the amount and the distribution of Cu in an unamended calcareous soil. Physical soil fractionations were carried out to separate soil primary particles according to their size and density. Cu has a heterogeneous distribution among soil particle fractions. Two fractions were mainly responsible for Cu retention in soils: the organic debris larger than 50 μm or coarse particulate organic matter (POM) issued from the organic amendments, and the clay-sized fraction <2 μm. The POM contained up to 2000 mg Cu kg−1 fraction and the clay fraction contained up to 500 mg Cu kg−1 fraction. The clay-sized fraction was responsible for almost 40% of the total amount of Cu in the four parcels. POM was predominantly responsible for the differences in Cu contents between the unamended and the three amended parcels. Our results attested that methods of soil particle-size fractionation can be successfully used to assess the distribution of metal elements in soils.

Introduction

An intensive use for more than 100 years of copper sulfate (Bordeaux mixture) to fight against mildew in vineyard soils led to an important, widespread accumulation of Cu. Arable land usually presents quantities of Cu between 5 and 30 mg kg−1 soil, whereas concentrations ranging from 100 to 1500 mg Cu kg−1 soil are frequently observed in vineyard soils (Drouineau and Mazoyer, 1962, Delas, 1963, Geoffrion, 1975, Deluisa et al., 1996, Flores-Velez et al., 1996). In Champagne, wine growing is the main agricultural activity and vineyards cover an extensive portion of arable land. Contents and vertical distribution of Cu in these soils are largely unknown. Furthermore, vineyards are located on steep slopes, 10 to 35% on average, leading to extensive soil-erosion processes. Ballif (1995) estimated that 1.7 Mg soil ha−1 year−1 were removed by erosion in Champagne vineyard soils between 1985 and 1994, corresponding to the removal of an 8-mm thick soil layer during this period. A substantial proportion of added copper sulfate sprayed annually on the vines reaches the soil where it often remains fixed in surface layers (Merry et al., 1983, Deluisa et al., 1996, Flores-Velez et al., 1996, Brun et al., 1998). Therefore, Cu is likely to be disseminated in the environment by run-off (Ballif, 1995). Thus, major risks for environmental pollution are generated, in particular with regards to water quality.

Bioavailability and mobility of Cu in soils largely depend on its chemical forms and, consequently, on the nature of the “carrier” constituents (Miller and McFee, 1983, Tessier and Campbell, 1988). The affinity of Cu towards humic substances is well described in literature, but few studies deal with other soil organic matter components, such as plant debris or bio-polymers (Kerndorff and Schnitzer, 1980, Schnitzer and Kodama, 1992, Spark et al., 1997). Studies on Cu behavior in vineyard soils are rather scarce in calcareous environments in comparison with acid, siliceous soils. In calcareous soils, an important part of the Cu is supposed to be retained by CaCO3 (McBride and Bouldin, 1984, Madrid and Diaz-Barrientos, 1992). Except for CaCO3, the relative importance of other mineral constituents regarding Cu retention was much less assessed. In chemical extraction studies on calcareous soils, Shuman, 1986, Saha et al., 1991 observed that less Cu was retained by CaCO3 when organic matter contents of these soils increased, suggesting a competition between these two components for Cu retention. Nowadays, no satisfactory method permits an unambiguous determination of the forms of association of trace metals with a given soil fraction (McGrath and Cegarra, 1992). Chemical methods become increasingly criticized because of technical limitations such as non-selectivity of the chemical reactants or artifacts due to Cu re-distribution during extraction procedures (Etcheber et al., 1983).

Another approach for studying relations between copper and soil constituents is physical fractionation. Over the last decade, these methods were used successfully for studying soil organic matter dynamics (Christensen, 1992). More recently, particle-size fractionation has been used to analyze the distribution of metal elements among soil primary particles. These studies emphasized the importance of two main soil-fractions, i.e. the clay-sized fraction and the coarse plant residues >50 μm forming the particulate organic matter (POM) fraction. The role of particulate organic matter in the retention of metals was highlighted in the case of (1) soils amended with sewage sludge (Ducaroir and Lamy, 1995), (2) soils polluted by industrial waste (Balabane et al., 1999), and (3) acidic vineyard soils contaminated by Cu (Flores-Velez et al., 1996).

In Champagne vineyards, organic soil amendments were introduced in the mid 1970s to increase soil fertility and to limit soil erosion by run-off. The most current organic amendments are bark, vine shoots, and urban compost (Ballif, 1995). We anticipate that these amendments modify the soil composition and thus, influence the retention and the distribution of Cu in vineyard soils. Furthermore, these amendments are hypothesized to limit Cu dissemination towards the environment.

In order to assess the influence of organic management on the retention of Cu in calcareous Champagne vineyard soils, we studied Cu distribution (1) in the soil profile and (2) among primary soil particles, in vineyard parcels with different amendments.

Section snippets

Site and soils

Soil samples were taken from the site of Reuil sur Marne, near Reims. The surface of the vineyard area was about 160 ha, including 3326 parcels. After inquiries based on agro-historical questionnaires, four parcels were selected with comparable slopes of about 10%. They received similar amounts of Cu each year, ranging from 3 to 5 kg Cu ha−1, depending on the humidity and temperature of the summer period, which determined the risks of mildew attacks. The first parcel, which was the control

Cu and organic carbon contents in soil

Cu concentrations decreased as the depth increased up to 60 cm (Fig. 1). Cu was to a large extent located in the 0–10 cm horizon. In the upper layer 0–3 cm, Cu concentrations ranged from 264 (unamended parcel) to 519 mg kg−1 soil (vine-shoots parcel) suggesting a high affinity of Cu towards plant debris. Layers deeper than 10 cm showed distinctly lower Cu contents, decreasing from 149 mg kg−1 soil at 15 cm depth to 18 mg kg−1 soil at 60 cm depth.

When 0–10 cm layers were considered, Cu contents

Conclusion

This study showed that organic amendments strongly modified the retention and the distribution of Cu in soils subject to annual inputs of this metal due to phytosanitary treatments of vineyards. Organic amendments had a direct effect on the retention of Cu in soil, as shown by the high Cu contents of particulate organic matter. Furthermore, organic amendments may also limit erosion and thus the dispersion of Cu from the vineyards in the environment and particularly in the surface waters.

Acknowledgements

This study is part of an EUROPOL'AGRO research program. The authors gratefully acknowledge (1) the Conseil General of Champagne-Ardennes for its financial support, (2) winegrowers for their collaboration, especially L. Lagache, (3) M. Pernes and J.P. Pétraud for fieldwork, and (4) M. Perrier for her precious help in fractionating soils. The authors are also grateful to F. Oort for critical reading of the manuscript, and G. Vernet and F. Arnoult for constructive comments during this work.

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