Aging activity of DDE in dissimilar rice soils in a greenhouse experiment

A green-house study was conducted in late 2005 to investigate the aging behavior of p,p′-DDE in two types of soil, Hydragric Anthrosols (An) and Hydragric Acrisols (Ac), according to the World Reference Base (WRB) [FAO/ISRIC/ISSS. 1998. World reference base for soil resources. World soil resources reports, Rome. p. 87]. Paddy rice and dry rice were grown in submerged paddy soils and non-submerged upland soils, respectively.The concentration of extractable p,p′-DDE in fresh DDE-spiked soils was 746.2 ng g−1. During the first few weeks of the experiment, the extractability of p,p′-DDE became increasingly low as the aging period prolonged. However, certain amount of p,p′-DDE that had been captured by soil minerals and organic matter (OM) could be released and became extractable in the later period. The extractability of p,p′-DDE in submerged soils was significantly lower than that in non-submerged soil, because flooding could increase the binding of pollutants to soil particles. The plantation of both dry rice and paddy rice slowed down the aging process of p,p′-DDE. After one month’s growth of rice, p,p′-DDE bound to soil particles was released and became extractable. The OM and silt content of An are higher than that of Ac, resulting in more bound residues and relative lower extractability of p,p′-DDE in An. In addition, the extractability of p,p′-DDE could be reduced by the addition of rice straw to soils.