New paper examines the geo-environmental and land use controls on the distribution of selenium in organic-rich soils of cold regions

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient but becomes toxic when people are exposed to excess levels. A new paper published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology presents a detailed analysis of the Se distribution in the cold region mollisol agroecosystems of northeastern China. The results indicate that the Se can be sourced back to chemical weathering of oil shales from the watershed source area and deposited along with organic matter during the fluvial deposition. However, the majority of organically-bound Se in these soils has a relatively low bioavailability which limits its utilization by crops. Moreover, the soil Se dynamics are disturbed by the increasingly intensive agricultural activities in the region. The study involves researchers from China University of Geosciences and ERG. The first author is former ERG postdoc Kunfu PI and Philippe is a co-author. The paper can be accessed at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.2c03647