TY  - JOUR
A1  - Tran, C. T.
A1  - Mai, N. T.
A1  - Nguyen, V. T.
A1  - Nguyen, H. X.
A1  - Meharg, A.
A1  - Carey, M.
A1  - Dultz, S.
A1  - Marone, F.
A1  - Cichy, Sarah Bettina
A1  - Nguyen, Minh N.
T1  - Phytolith-associated potassium in fern
BT  - characterization, dissolution properties and implications for slash-and-burn agriculture
JF  - Soil use and Management
N2  - In recent time, phytoliths (silicon deposition between plant cells) have been recognized as an important nutrient source for crops. The work presented here aims at highlighting the potential of phytolith-occluded K pool in ferns. Dicranopteris linearis (D.linearis) is a common fern in the humid subtropical and tropical regions. Burning of the fern D.linearis is, in slash-and-burn regions, a common practice to prepare the soil before planting. We characterised the phytolith-rich ash derived from the fern D.linearis and phytolith-associated potassium (K) (phytK), using X-ray tomographic microscopy in combination with kinetic batch experiments. D.linearis contains up to 3.9g K/kgd.wt, including K subcompartmented in phytoliths. X-ray tomographic microscopy visualized an interembedding structure between organic matter and silica, particularly in leaves. Corelease of K and Si observed in the batch experiments confirmed that the dissolution of ash phytoliths is one of major factors controlling K release. Under heat treatment, a part of the K is made available, while the remainder entrapped into phytoliths (ca. 2.0-3.3%) is unavailable until the phytoliths are dissolved. By enhanced removal of organic phases, or forming more stable silica phases, heat treatment changes dissolution properties of the phytoliths, affecting K release for crops and soils. The maximum releases of soluble K and Si were observed for the phytoliths treated at 500-800 degrees C. For quantitative approaches for the K provision of plants from the soil phytK pool in soils, factors regulating phytolith dissolution rate have to be considered.
KW  - Potassium
KW  - phytolith
KW  - fern
KW  - Dicranopteris linearis
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12409
SN  - 0266-0032
SN  - 1475-2743
VL  - 34
IS  - 1
SP  - 28
EP  - 36
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -