Uranium Biogeochemistry in the Rhizosphere of a Contaminated Wetland.

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to determine if U sediment concentrations in a U-contaminated wetland located within the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, were greater in the rhizosphere than in the nonrhizosphere. U concentrations were as much as 1100% greater in the rhizosphere than in the nonrhizosphere fractions; however and importantly, not all paired samples followed this trend. Iron (but not C, N, or S) concentrations were significantly enriched in the rhizosphere. XAS analyses showed that in both sediment fractions, U existed as UO₂²⁺ coordinated with iron(III)-oxides and organic matter. A key difference between the two sediment fractions was that a larger proportion of U was adsorbed to Fe(III)-oxides, not organic matter, in the rhizosphere, where signific

SUBMITTER: Kaplan DI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11008245 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature