Viral and chemical tracer movement through contrasting soils

McLeod, Malcolm and Aislabie, Jacqueline and Smith, James J. and Fraser, Rhonda and Roberts, Alexandra and Taylor, Matthew (2001) Viral and chemical tracer movement through contrasting soils. Journal of Environmental Quality 30:pp. 2134-2140.

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Abstract

Received for publication October 3, 2000. Land treatment of animal or human waste can result in chemical and microbial contamination of shallow ground water and/or waterways. We investigated the fate of a host-specific Salmonella bacteriophage and a nonreactive chemical (Br-) tracer when applied to large intact lysimeter soil cores (500 mm diam. by 700 mm high). The soils included a poorly drained Gley Soil and well-drained Pumice, Allophanic, and Recent Soils. A depth of 30 mm of water containing the bacteriophage and Br- was applied to the soil at a rate of 5 mm h-1 followed by up to about 1.8 pore volumes of simulated rainfall. Resulting leachates, collected continuously over at least one pore volume were analyzed for the bacteriophage and bromide (Br-) tracers. Bromide moved uniformly through the Pumice and Allophanic Soils with peak concentrations at about 1 pore volume, while the bacteriophage was detected only at trace levels or not at all. In contrast, both Br- and bacteriophage tracers moved rapidly through Gley and Recent Soils, appearing early in the leachate and then tailing off. Such flow patterns in the Gley and Recent Soils are indicative of bypass flow. Coarse soil structure in the Gley Soil, and finger-flow due to water repellency in the sandy Recent Soil are considered responsible for the observed bypass flow in these two soils. Allophanic and Pumice Soils have finer, more porous soil structure leading to a predominance of matrix flow over bypass flow. This study suggests vertical movement of viruses varies significantly with soil type.

Item Type:	Journal Article
RM Number:	2007003419
Status:	Published
Keywords:	Virus, groundwater, movement, soils, bacteriophage, indicator
Subjects:	300000 Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences > 300400 Animal Production > 300405 Animal Protection (Pests and Pathogens) 300000 Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences > 300100 Soil and Water Sciences > 300104 Land Capability and Soil Degradation 290000 Engineering and Technology > 291100 Environmental Engineering > 291101 Environmental Engineering Modelling 270000 Biological Sciences > 270300 Microbiology > 270301 Bacteriology 270000 Biological Sciences > 270300 Microbiology > 270303 Virology 260000 Earth Sciences > 260500 Hydrology > 260501 Groundwater Hydrology 300000 Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences > 300800 Environmental Sciences > 300801 Environmental Management and Rehabilitation 300000 Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences > 300800 Environmental Sciences > 300803 Natural Resource Management 290000 Engineering and Technology > 290100 Industrial Biotechnology and Food Sciences > 290101 Fermentation, Biotechnology and Industrial Microbiology 300000 Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences > 300100 Soil and Water Sciences > 300102 Soil Biology 300000 Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences > 300100 Soil and Water Sciences > 300105 Applied Hydrology (Drainage, Flooding, Irrigation, Quality, etc.) 300000 Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences > 300500 Veterinary Sciences > 300510 Virology 270000 Biological Sciences > 270300 Microbiology > 270307 Microbial Ecology
ID Code:	8213
Deposited By:	Smith, James J
Deposited On:	11 July 2007
Alternative Locations:	http://jeq.scijournals.org/, http://jeq.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/30/6/2134
Copyright Owner:	Copyright 2001 American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America
Additional Information:	For more information, please refer to the journal’s website (see hypertext link) or contact the author. Author contact details: jj.smith@qut.edu.au