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Distribution of exchangeable arsenic in low-land paddy fields in Sri Lanka as affected by the agro-climatic zone, soil and water source

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2025

Anuththara Neththasinghe ,
Nipuna Thennakoon ,
Samantha Dissanayaka ,
Buddhi Marambe ,
Harsha Kadupitiya ,
Upul Rathnayake ,
Rohana Chandrajith  and
Lalith Suriyagoda Open the ORCID record for Lalith Suriyagoda [Opens in a new window]
Anuththara Neththasinghe
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Nipuna Thennakoon
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Samantha Dissanayaka
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Buddhi Marambe
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Harsha Kadupitiya
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Management Centre, Department of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Upul Rathnayake
Affiliation:
Rice Research and Development Institute, Department of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Rohana Chandrajith
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Lalith Suriyagoda*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
*
Corresponding author: Lalith Suriyagoda; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The presence of excessive arsenic (As) in paddy fields poses a significant risk to human health due to its accumulation in rice grains. However, the current level of As in Sri Lankan paddy fields remains unclear. Therefore, this research aims to assess the distribution of exchangeable As concentration and investigate the effects of agro-climatic zones (ACZs), soil orders and water sources on exchangeable As concentration in Sri Lankan paddy fields. For this purpose, 7,154 soil samples were collected from paddy fields using a stratified random sampling method representing six ACZs, six soil orders and three water sources. Arsenic extraction was made using 0.01 M CaCl2 followed by the detection with inductive coupled plasma mass spectrophotometry. The concentration of exchangeable As ranged from 0.01 to 392.9 µg/kg with an average of 24.6 µg/kg. Samples from the Low-country Wet zone exhibited higher exchangeable As levels compared to those from the Low country Dry zone (P < 0.05). Among soil orders, Histosols, Inceptisols and Ultisols showed higher exchangeable As concentrations than Alfisols and Vertisols (P < 0.05). Rainfed paddy fields had higher exchangeable As compared to the fields with access to supplementary irrigation. Additionally, exchangeable As concentration was inversely correlated with soil pH and paddy grain yield (P < 0.05). The observed variations in soil-As concentration across ACZs, soil orders and water sources highlight the need for climate, soil order and water source-specific strategies to mitigate further accumulation of As in paddy fields.

Keywords

bioavailabilityheavy metalsirrigationlowlandsremediationtoxicity
Type
Crops and Soils Research Paper
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , First View , pp. 1 - 10
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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