Copper adsorption in tropical oxisols

Cu adsorption, at concentrations between 0 to 800 mg L-1, was evaluated in surface and subsurface samples of three Brazilian soils: a heavy clayey-textured Rhodic Hapludalf (RH), a heavy clayey-textured Anionic "Rhodic" Acrudox (RA) and a medium-textured Anionic "Xanthic" Acrudox (XA). After adsorption, two consecutive extractions were performed to the samples which received 100 mg L-1 copper. Surface samples adsorbed higher amounts of Cu than the subsurface, and exhibited lower Cu removed after the extractions, reinforcing the influence of the organic matter in the reactions. Cu adsorption was significant in the subsurface horizons of the Oxisols, despite the positive balance of charge, demonstrating the existence of mechanisms for specific adsorption, mainly related to the predominance of iron and aluminum oxides in the mineral fractions. In these samples, Cu was easily removed from the adsorption sites. RH demonstrated a higher capacity for the Cu adsorption in both horizons.