Abstract
Iron makes up about 5% by weight of the earth’s crust and is invariably present in all soils (see Table 11.1). The greatest part of soil Fe usually occurs in the crystal lattices of numerous minerals. The primary minerals in which Fe is present include the ferromagnesian silicates such as olivine, augite, hornblende and biotite. In biotite and illite Fe is located in the centre of the octahedra and may be di-or trivalent (Fanning et al. 1989). By weathering of these minerals Fe oxides such as goethite, haematite, and ferrihydrate are formed. The solubility of these FeIII oxides is extremely low (Schwertmann 1991). Goethite (α-FeOOH) is the most widespread Fe mineral in soils. Together with other Fe oxides it greatly influences soil colour which is between yellowish brown and brown (Allen and Hajek 1989). Haematite (α-Fe2O3) is also a widespread Fe oxide in soils particularly in well-drained tropical soils. In Oxisols and Ultisols it represents a signifcant proportion of the clay fraction. Ferrihydrate (HFe5O8·4H2O) has a high specific surface and for this reason may be of importance as an Fe source for plants. As a consequence of their high stability Fe oxides accumulate during oxidative weathering as hydrous oxides in the clay fraction. Thus in soils at an advanced stage of oxidative weathering as is the case of lateritic soils, these oxides together with Al oxides and kaolinite predominate in the profile. According to (1982) the solubility of Fe oxides/hydroxides decreases in the following sequence: Fe(OH)3 amorphous > Fe(OH)3 in soils > γ-Fe203 maghaemite > γ-FeOOH lepidocrocite > α-Fe2O3 haematite > α-FeOOH goethite.
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Mengel, K., Kirkby, E.A., Kosegarten, H., Appel, T. (2001). Iron. In: Mengel, K., Kirkby, E.A., Kosegarten, H., Appel, T. (eds) Principles of Plant Nutrition. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-1009-2_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-1009-2_13
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