Correlation between biological and physical availabilities of phenanthrene in soils and soil humin in aging experiments

The bioavailability of an organic compound in a soil or sediment commonly declines with the soil‐chemical contact time (aging). A series of parallel desorption and bioavailability experiments was carried out on phenanthrene previously aged up to ∼100 d in Mount Pleasant silt loam (Mt. Pleasant, NY, USA) or Pahokee peat soil to determine as a function of the aging period the degree of correlation between the reduction in bioavailability and the rate and extent of desorption and the influence of soil organic matter composition on availability. The mineralization of phenanthrene by two bacteria and the uptake of phenanthrene by earthworms showed expected declines with aging. Likewise, the rate of phenanthrene desorption in the absence of organisms decreased with aging. The decline in initial rate of mineralization or desorption was nearly an order of magnitude after 50 to 60 d of aging. Plots of normalized rates of mineralization or desorption practically coincided. Similarly, plots of normalized fraction mineralized or fraction desorbed during an arbitrary period gave comparable slopes. The partial removal of organic matter from the peat by extraction with dilute NaOH to leave the humin fraction reduced the biodegradation of phenanthrene aged for 38 and 63 d as compared to the nonextracted peat, but the effect disappeared at longer incubation times. The rate of desorption from samples of peat previously extracted with NaOH or Na4P2O7 declined with aging and, for a given aging period, was significantly slower than from nonextracted peat. This work shows that the reduction in bioavailability of phenanthrene over time in soil is directly correlated with reduction of its physical availability due to desorption limitations. In addition, this study shows that removal of extractable humic substances leads to a decline in the rate of desorption and in the bioavailability of the substrate.

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