Spatial distribution characteristics and main controlling factors of germanium in soil of northern Dabie Mountains, China
-
Abstract: With the increasing application of germanium (Ge) elements in modern industry, military and medical health industries, especially with the growing demand for Ge-rich agricultural products, the study of Ge-rich soil has become particularly important, but the enrichment pattern and control factors of Ge-rich soil are still not well understood due to the high dispersion and high migration of Ge-rich soil. In this paper, 495 surface soil (0–20 cm) and 149 deep soil (150–200 cm) samples were collected from the northern foothills of Dabie Mountain using a double-layer grid layout, and the spatial distribution and enrichment characteristics of Ge were studied by high-resolution method, and the controlling factors affecting the distribution of Ge-rich soil was analyzed by geo-statistics and spatial analogy. The results show an average Ge content of 1.34 mg/kg for the surface and 1.36 mg/kg for the deep soil. In the assessment grade classification of surface and deep soil for Ge, the abundant and sub-abundant grades account for 37.97% and 31.70%, respectively, covering 752 km2 and 634 km2. Surface Ge-rich regions are distributed in concentrated strips in the north-central part of the studied region, and there is no clear pattern in the spatial distribution of deep soils. In the areas under study, such as Fenlukou, Dingji, and Jiangjiadian, the surface soil is very rich in Ge and has a high enrichment factor, which is valuable for agricultural development. In surface soils, river deposits and shallow metamorphic rock parent materials have the highest content of Ge, while in deep soils, the highest content has been found in the parent material of moderately acidic rock. Both surface and deep soils have the highest Ge content in purple paddy soils and plain areas. The source of Ge in the soils of the study area is most influenced by the lithology of the soil-forming parent material, while the distribution of Ge in the surface soils is jointly influenced by pH, SiO2, TFe2O3, and Al2O3 in the soil. This study has implications for understanding the enrichment pattern of Ge in soil and its controlling factors as well as for the development of Ge-rich agricultural products.
-
Key words:
- Germanium /
- Soil /
- Enrichment feature /
- Distribution characteristics /
- Influencing factors
-
Table 1. The test results
Numeral Element/Index Testing instruments/Testing methods Required detection limit (mg/kg) Detection limit in this experiment (mg/kg) 1 pH ISE 0.1(**) 0.1(**) 2 Ge HG-AFS 0.1 0.1 3 SiO2 ZSXPrimusⅡ XRF 0.1* 0.05* 4 Al2O3 ZSXPrimusⅡ XRF 0.05* 0.05* 5 TFe2O3 ZSXPrimusⅡ XRF 0.05* 0.05* 6 Organic matter VOL 0.1(*) 0.05(*) Note: “*” means mass fraction of 10−2, “**” means dimensionless. Table 2. Statistical analysis of soil Ge content in the study area
Sample
(numbers)Minimum
(mg/kg)Maximum
(mg/kg)Standard
deviationA quarter of
the quantileThree-quarters
of quantileVariable
coefficientAverage Surface 495 1.01 1.80 0.139 1.24 1.44 0.104 1.34 Deep 149 1.00 1.82 0.166 1.24 1.47 0.122 1.36 Table 3. The national-provincial/provincial-district land quality evaluation criteria for the classification of nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and sulfur and the Ge concentration percentage in the study area
Index Top-grade
(Abundant)Second-grade
(Sub-abundant)Third-grade
(Medium)Fourth-grade
(Sub-lack)Fifth-grade
(Lack)Ge(mg/kg) >1.50 >1.40–1.50 >1.30 –1.40 >1.20–1.30 ≤1.20 Surface Samples 66 122 124 100 84 percentage(%) 13.33 24.64 25.05 20.20 16.96 Deep Samples 59 60 84 74 98 percentage(%) 15.70 16.00 22.40 19.70 26.10 Table 4. Enrichment classification of germanium in soils of the study area
Grade Lack Background Enrichment Enrichment coefficient <0.85 0.85–1.05 >1.05 Area covering percentage 15.12% 46.97% 37.90% Table 5. Distribution of soil germanium in different parent material types, soil types and topographic features in the study area
Type Surface Deep Difference Sample
(numbers)Mean
value
(mg/kg)Variation
(%)Sample
(numbers)Mean
value
(mg/kg)Variation
(%)Soil-forming parent material River impact parent material 371 1.35 1.01–1.80 106 1.33 1.10–1.75 0.02 Red clastic rock 85 1.30 1.04–1.71 26 1.45 1.00–1.82 −0.15 Shallow metamorphic rock 26 1.35 1.11–1.67 5 1.28 1.07–1.54 0.07 Medium alkaline rock 3 1.26 1.18–1.38 4 1.3 1.07–1.56 −0.04 Medium acidic rock 10 1.29 1.05–1.40 7 1.50 1.37–1.60 −0.21 Soil type Purple paddy soils 66 1.36 1.05–1.80 21 1.43 1.18–1.82 −0.11 Yellow brown soils 60 1.28 1.02–1.69 18 1.33 0.99–1.75 0.03 Fluvo-aquic soils 54 1.31 1.05–1.61 17 1.29 1.07–1.57 0.02 Paddy soils 319 1.35 1.01–1.67 93 1.35 1.00–1.71 −0.02 Topography Basin 17 1.20 1.01–1.33 3 1.28 1.14–1.35 −0.08 Hills 75 1.28 1.05–1.70 21 1.41 1.00–1.82 −0.13 Mountains 4 1.32 1.18–1.44 3 1.34 1.07–1.56 −0.02 Plains 399 1.36 1.02–1.80 121 1.35 0.99–1.75 0.01 Table 6. Correlation analysis of germanium in soil with other elements
Category Al2O3 TFe2O3 Corg pH SiO2 Germanium Surface −0.141** 0.232** 0.284** 0.157** 0.204** Deep −0.157 −0.029 0.059 0.014 0.312** Notes: **At level 0.01 (double tails), the correlation was significant.
*At level 0.05 (double tails), the correlation was significant. -
Bernstein LR. 1985. Germanium geochemistry and mineralogy. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 49(11): 2409−2422. doi: 10.1016/0016-7037(85)90241-8 Bernstein LR, Waychunas GA. 1987. Germanium crystal chemistry in hematite and goethite from the apex mine, utah, and some new data on Germanium in aqueous solution and in stottite. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 51(3): 623−630. doi: 10.1016/0016-7037(87)90074-3 Burton JD, Culkin F, Riley JP. 1959. The abundances of gallium and Germanium in terrestrial materials. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 16(1−3): 151−180. doi: 10.1016/0016-7037(59)90052-3 Dong QY, Wen HT, Song C, et al. 2022. Comprehensive evaluation and influencing factorsb of surface soil nutrient chemistry in southeastern cultivated area of the Nanyang, Henan Province. Geoscience: 1−13. (in Chinese) Dong QY, Lai SY, Song C, et al. 2022. Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Germanium in Soil in the Eastern Mountainous Area of the Nanyang Basin. Environmental Science: 1−16. (in Chinese) doi: 10.13227/j.hjkx.202109093 Duan YR, Yang ZF, Yang Q, et al. 2020. The distribution, influencing factors and ecological environment evaluation of soil Germanium in beibu gulf of guangxi zhuang autonomous region. Geology in China, 47(06): 11−16. (in Chinese) Franco, Marcantonio. 1998. Principles and applications of geochemistry, 2nd Edition. Eos Transactions American Geophysical Union, 30(79): 356. doi: 10.1029/98EO00270 Haller EE. 2006. Germanium: From its discovery to SiGe devices. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, 9(4−5): 408−422. doi: 10.1016/j.mssp.2006.08.063 He L, Sun BB, Zhou GH. et al. 2016. Land Quality geochemical survey technique at A hilly-basin area in zhejiang province. Modern geology, (6): 1285−1293. (in Chinese) Hong T, Kong XS. 2021. Geochemical feature and genesis analysis of germanium-rich soil in Guangnan County of Yunnan. Mineral resources and Geology, 35(02): 290-295. (in Chinese) HöLL R, Kling M, Schro E. 2007. Metallogenesis of Germanium—A review. Ore Geology Reviews, 30(3−4): 145−180. doi: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2005.07.034 Kurtz AC, Derry LA, Chadwick OA. 2002. Germanium-silicon fractionation in the weathering environment. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 66(9): 1525−1537. doi: 10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00869-9 Liao QL, Jin Y, Wu XM, et al. 2005. Artificial environmental concentration coefficients of elements in soils in the Nanjing area. Chinese Geology, 32(1): 141−147. (in Chinese) Li ST, Wang MY. 2021. Investigation and analysis of germanium enrichment characteristics of soils in Jidong county. Hydraulic science and cold Region engineering, 4(02): 61−64. (in Chinese) Liu DR. 2020. Geochemical characteristics and influencing factors of Germanium in surface soil of changshan county, Zhejiang Province. Geoscience, 34(01): 97−103. (in Chinese) Liu Y, Hou LY, Zhao GL, et al. 2015. Mechanism and application of germanium in plant growth. Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture, 23(2008): 931−937. (in Chinese) Liu YJ. 1984. Element geochemistry. Science Press: 399−407. (in Chinese) Loell M, Albrecht LC, Felix-henningsen P. 2011. Rare earth elements and relation betweentheir potential bioavailability and soil properties, Nidda Catchment (Central Germany). Plant & Soil, 349(1−2): 303−317. doi: 10.1007/s11104-011-0875-y Mu ZJ. 2001. Background values and distribution characteristics of Germanium in purple soils in ChongQing areas [D]. Chongqing: Southwest University. (in Chinese) Murnane RJ, Stallard RF. 1990. Germanium and silicon in rivers of the orinoco drainage basin. Nature, 344(6268): 749−752. doi: 10.1038/344749a0 Onishi, Hiroshi. 2006. Notes On the geochemistry of germanium. Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, 29(6): 686−694. doi: 10.1246/bcsj.29.686 Rosenberg E. 2009. Germanium: Environmental occurrence, importance and speciation. Reviews in Environmental Science & Bio/technology, 8(1): 29−57. doi: 10.1007/s11157-008-9143-x Scribner AM, Kurtz AC, Chadwick OA. 2006. Germanium sequestration by soil: Targeting the roles of secondary clays and Fe-oxyhydroxides. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 243(3−4): 760−770. doi: 10.1016/j.jpgl.2006.01.051 Shen YZ, Xia CZ. 1997. Biological function of Germanium and its influence on animal function. Feed Research, (2): 21−22. (in Chinese) Song C, Liu M, Dong QY, et al. 2022. Variation characteristics of CO2 in a newly-excavated soil profile, Chinese Loess Plateau: Excavation-induced ancient soil organic carbon decomposition. Journal of Groundwater Science and Engineering, 10(1): 19−32. doi: 10.19637/j.cnki.2305-7068.2022.01.003 Sun HY, Sun XM, Jia FC, et al. 2020. The eco-geochemical characteristics of germanium and its relationship with the genuine medicinal material Scutellaria baicalensis in Chengde, Hebei Province. Geology of China, 47(06): 1646−1667. (in Chinese) Tao SH, Bolger PM. 1997. Hazard assessment of Germanium supplements. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology: RTP, 25(3): 211−219. doi: 10.1006/rtph.1997.1098 Taylor SR, Mclennan SM. 1985. The continental crust: Its composition and evolution. The Journal of Geology, 94(4): 57−72. Tyler G, Olsson T. 2001. Plant uptake of major and minor mineral elements as influenced by soil acidity and liming. Plant and Soil, 230(2): 307−321. doi: 10.1023/A:1010314400976 Wei XY, Liu YH, Wang XM. et al. 2000. Study on form extraction of germanium in soil and its form distribution. Environmental Chemistry, 019(3): 250−255. (in Chinese) Wei ZQ,Guo Y, QiaoWL. 2021. Distribution characteristics and enrichment mechanism of germanium element in arable soils of Zunyi area, Guizhou. Mineral Resources and Geology, 35(5): 972−979. Wiche O, Heilmeier H. 2016. Germanium (Ge) and rare earth element (REE) accumulation in selected energy crops cultivated on two different soils. Minerals Engineering, 92(208−215). Wolf KH, Küster B, Herlnger H, et al. 1978. Metallkatalysatoren in der herstellung vonpolyäthylenterephthalat.2. ermittlung von parametern zur beschreibung der katalytischen aktivität von metall verbindungen in polykondensationsreaktionen. Macromolecular Materials & Engineering, 68(1): 23−37. doi: 10.1002/apmc.1978.050680103 Xu M. 2006. Geostatistics-based characterization of the spatial distribution and temporal changes of soil fertilities in the region around taihu lake in jiangsu province, China [D]. Nanjing: Nanjing Agricultural University. (in Chinese) You GZ, Bao DZ, Li PP. 2020. Germanium contentcharacteristics andcause of Germanium-rich soil in anlong county, guizhou province. Journal of Guizhou University (Natural Science), 37(05): 35−39. (in Chinese) Yu F, Zhang YW, Wang Y, et al. 2021. Distribution characteristics and influencing factors of germanium-rich soil in typical agricultural area of chongqing municipality. Mineral resources and Geology, 30(05): 609−616. (in Chinese) Yuan H, Zhao L, Wang ML, et al. 2019. Geostatistical analysis and evaluation of soil Germanium content in the qushui area of lhasa river basin. Chinese Journal of Soil Science, 50(5): 1079−1084. (in Chinese) Zeng YY, Zhou JL, Zheng Y, et al. 2017. Geochemical features of Germanium-rich soils and its causes in oasis region of ruoqiang county, xinjiang. Chinese Journal of Soil Science, 48(05): 1082−6. (in Chinese) Zhu LX, Lin H. 2000. Research progress of Germanium. Feed Research(3): 20−23. (in Chinese)