Influence of applied zinc and organic matter on zinc desorption kinetics in calcareous soils

Zinc (Zn) desorption from an exchange complex to solution, the release of Zn from organic matter (OM), crystalline minerals and other precipitates into the solution phase, is the process that controls Zn mobility in soils. An experiment was conducted to determine the pattern of Zn desorption and the soil characteristics affecting it. Desorption of Zn in 15 calcareous soils from southern Iran, treated with 10 mg Zn kg soil(-1) as zinc sulfate (ZnSO4 center dot 7H(2)O) and 10 g organic matter (OM) kg(-1) as feedlot cattle manure, equilibrated and extracted with diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA), was studied. Eight kinetic models were evaluated to describe the rate of Zn desorption of soil extracted with DTPA. There was a rapid rate of desorption during the first 4 h followed by a slower rate during the next 12 h. Two-constant rate and simple Elovich models were determined as the best models describing Zn desorption kinetics. Zinc desorption increased as Zn was applied, whereas it decreased with applied OM. The constants of the simple Elovich (beta(s)) and two-constant rate equations (a and b) were closely correlated with cation-exchange capacity (CEC), OM and pH, which affect Zn solubility, sorption-desorption and diffusion in soils.