Influence of geochemical properties and land-use types on the microbial reduction of Fe(iii) in subtropical soils

Abstract

Microbial Fe(III) reduction significantly impacts the geochemical processes and the composition of most subsurface soils. However, up to now, the factors influencing the efficiency of Fe(III) reduction in soils have not been fully described. In this study, soil Fe(III) reduction processes related to geochemical properties and land-use types were systematically investigated using iron-rich soils. The results showed that microbial Fe(III) reduction processes were efficient and their rates varied significantly in different types of soils. Fe(III) reduction rates were 1.1–5.6 times as much in soils with glucose added as in those without glucose. Furthermore, Fe(III) reduction rates were similar in soils from the same parent materials, while they were highest in soils developed from sediments, with a mean rate of 1.87 mM per day when supplemented with glucose. In addition, the Fe(III) reduction rates, reaching 0.99 and 0.59 mM per day on average with and without glucose added, respectively, were higher in the paddy soils affected heavily by human activities than those in the forest soils (average rates of 0.38 and 0.15 mM per day when with and without glucose, respectively). All the soil weathering indices correlated linearly with Fe(III) reduction rates, even though the reduction of iron in soils with higher weathering degrees was partly inhibited by a higher soil protonation trend and fewer available iron reduction sites in the soils, which gives lower reduction rates. These results clearly illustrate that soil Fe(III) reduction rates are greatly dependent on soil geochemical properties and land-use types and help define which soil types exhibit similar degrees of Fe(III) reduction under field conditions.