In no-tillage systems, crop residues and nutrients, namely phosphorus and calcium, accumulate in soil surface and can inactivate soil aluminum. In this way, only the presence of this element in soil analysis does not indicate plant toxicity, since organic and inorganic anions may affect the free aluminum dynamics by decreasing its activity in the soil solution. Knowledge on ion activity and speciation in soil solution is therefore useful to understand Al dynamics. Ionic activity and speciation were determined in the soil solution of an Oxisol (Rhodic Hapludox), under no-tillage for the seven preceding years and different acidity conditions due to previous applications of variable lime rates in 1994. After the chemical characterization of the study soil, undisturbed samples were collected in PVC columns and subjected to surface application of different phosphorus rates (0, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1.280, and 2.560 mg L-1 of P in solution) and then incubated for 30 days. Soil solution was directly extracted from the tubes by centrifugation and acidity attributes and cations and anions were determined to estimate ionic activity and speciation using a Visual Minteq A2 program. A decrease in aluminum content and activity in soil solution after phosphorus application was observed. The increase of phosphorus in soil solution did not directly affect aluminum inactivation, because no aluminum phosphates were formed. The increase of phosphorus in soil solution, however, displaced organic and inorganic anions that were effective in aluminum complexation in soil solution.
aluminum-organic ligand complexation; anion exchange; soil solution; ionic speciation; undisturbed samples
