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Title: Microbial response to copper oxide nanoparticles in soils is controlled by land use rather than copper fate

Journal Article · · Environmental Science: Nano
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EN00656H· OSTI ID:1829906
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]; ORCiD logo [8];  [6]; ORCiD logo [9]; ORCiD logo [2];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13]; ORCiD logo [13];  [6];  [6]
  1. United States Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Horticultural Crops Research Unit, Prosser, WA, USA, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Prosser, WA, USA
  2. Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
  3. Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA, USA
  4. Department of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, University of California-Davis, CA, USA
  5. Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
  6. Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA
  7. Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District, St. Albans, VT, USA
  8. Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
  9. School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
  10. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California-Davis, CA, USA
  11. Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
  12. United States Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit-Davis, CA, USA, Department of Viticulture, University of California-Davis, CA, USA
  13. Canadian Light Source, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Copper (Cu) products, including copper oxide nanoparticles (nCuO), are critically important agricultural fungicides and algaecides. Foliar application onto crops and subsequent aerosol drift of these Cu products, especially nCuO, on to soil may alter nutrient cycling and microbial communities in both managed and unmanaged environments. We measured the influence of land use on soil microbial biomass and respiration in response to the addition of nCuO to an alluvial soil. Different land uses included grassland, forest and both organic and conventional managed row crops. Soil samples were amended with 1000 mg Cu per kg soil as CuCl2, 16 nm CuO (16nCuO), 42 nm CuO (42nCuO), and larger than nanoparticle sized bulk CuO (bCuO). Copper availability immediately increased in all soils following Cu addition in the order of CuCl2 > 16nCuO > 42nCuO > bCuO. After 70 days Cu availability was diminished across land uses and lowest in soils treated with bCuO. Using X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, we determined that the relatively high availability of Cu after treatment with nanoparticle sized CuO was due to the dissolution of CuO particles and subsequent adsorption by soil materials. Respiration, an indicator of microbial activity, was suppressed by Cu additions, especially CuCl2. Copper effects on soil microbial biomass were sensitive to land use. In agricultural soils, microbial biomass was unaltered by Cu form, regardless of concentration, whereas in unmanaged soils, it decreased following exposure to CuCl2 and 42nCuO. Our results suggest that land use history has little impact on Cu chemical fate in soils, but strongly modulates microbial response to Cu exposure. These results are especially important for organic agricultural systems where copper fungicides are widely used but may suppress microbial mineralization of nutrients from soil organic matter.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division; USDA
Grant/Contract Number:
ALS-10032; SC0008385; AC02-05CH11231; 2013-67017-21211; 438281
OSTI ID:
1829906
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1834752
Journal Information:
Environmental Science: Nano, Journal Name: Environmental Science: Nano Vol. 8 Journal Issue: 12; ISSN 2051-8153
Publisher:
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

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