A risk ranking model was developed to provide a systematic evaluation of the range and quantity of 28 elemental contaminants applied to land in New Zealand and applied to mineral P fertilisers. The methodology is transparent, flexible and robust and allows contamination issues to be ranked according to their real or potential impact. The quantitative ranking model is based on the relative importance of each element in relation to accumulation in soil, transfer to water or uptake by plants, toxicity to soil organisms, plants and people, and the contribution of any radioactive isotopes. The highest risk score for potential environmental significance of P fertiliser borne trace element contaminants was found for uranium, followed (in decreasing order) by cadmium, mercury, boron, fluoride, selenium, arsenic, silver and rare earth elements. The lowest score (rank 28) was attributed to strontium.

This paper presents the determination of 13 elements in a simultaneous and sequential analysis using solochrome violet (SVRS), chloranilic acid (CA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), dimethylglyoxime (DMG), and oxine as complexing electrolytes. The Methods were applied to determine Al3+, Fe3+, Mo6+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Tl+, U6+, V5+, and Cr6+ in fertilizers, plant materials, and foodstuffs. The Method was found to be selective and accurate (82.13–119.03 %) for elemental analysis in complex matrices that were previously submitted to a total oxidative digestion step (calcination and wet digestion). Mutual interferences of the elements were systematically investigated. The Sequential Method could be useful for the routine quality control of foodstuffs and fertilizer formulations regarding mineral nutrients or contaminants.

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Schnug, E. 2016. Comparing volcanic glass shards in unfertilised and fertilised Andisols derived from rhyolitic tephras, New Zealand: evidence for accelerated weathering and implications for land management. Geoderma 271, 91-98. http://dx. Highlights We examined glass shards from two Andisols of different age and fertilizer history  The average sizes and angularities of the glass shards decreased with soil age  The shard size and angularity decreases were more marked in the fertilized soils  Additions of phosphatic, F-containing fertilizer had enhanced the glass dissolution AbstractEnhanced weathering associated with the use of phosphate fertilizers has been identified in some of the major farming areas of New Zealand and an evaluation of its effects on soil properties and the implications for soil management are needed. We assessed changes in the