Rice represents a major route of As exposure in populations that depend on a rice diet. Practical measures are needed to mitigate the problem of excessive As accumulation in paddy rice. Two potential mitigation methods, management of the water regime and Si fertilization, were investigated under greenhouse conditions. Growing rice aerobically during the entire rice growth duration resulted in the leastAs accumulation. Maintaining aerobic conditions during either vegetative or reproductive stage of rice growth also decreased As accumulation in rice straw and grain significantly compared with rice grown under flooded conditions. The effect of water management regimes was consistent with the observed effect of flooding-induced arsenite mobilization in the soil solution. Aerobic treatments increased the percentage of inorganic As in grain, but the concentrations of inorganic As remained lower than in the flooded rice. Silicon fertilization decreased the total As concentration in straw and grain by 78 and 16%, respectively, even though Si addition increased As concentration in the soil solution. Silicon also significantly influenced As speciation in rice grain and husk by enhancing methylation. Silicon decreased the inorganic As concentration in grain by 59% while increasing the concentration of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) by 33%. There were also significant differences between two rice genotypes in grain As speciation. This study demonstrated that water management Si fertilization, and selection of rice cultivars are effective measures that can be used to reduce As accumulation in rice.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and livestock. In the UK, human Se intake and status has declined since the 1980s. This is primarily due to the increased use of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in UK soils which are naturally low in Se. The aim of this study was to determine the potential for increasing grain Se concentration in a high-yielding UK wheat crop using fertilisers. The crop response of winter-wheat to Se fertilisation was determined under standard field conditions in two consecutive years at up to 10 sites. Selenium fertilisers were applied as high-volume drenches of sodium selenate solution, or as granular Se-containing products. Yield and harvest index were unaffected by Plant Soil (2010) 332:5-18

Summary Aliphatic hydrocarbons make up a substantial portion of organic contamination in the terrestrial environment. However, most studies have focussed on the fate and behaviour of aromatic contaminants in soil. Despite structural differences between aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, both classes of contaminants are subject to physicochemical processes, which can affect the degree of loss, sequestration and interaction with soil microflora. Given the nature of hydrocarbon contamination of soils and the importance of bioremediation strategies, understanding the fate and behaviour of aliphatic hydrocarbons is imperative, particularly microbe–contaminant interactions. Biodegradation by microbes is the key removal process of hydrocarbons in soils, which is controlled by hydrocarbon physicochemistry, environmental conditions, bioavailability and the presence of catabolically active microbes. Therefore, the aims of this review are (i) to consider the physicochemical properties of aliphatic hydrocarbons and highlight mechanisms controlling their fate and behaviour in soil; (ii) to discuss the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of aliphatic hydrocarbons in soil, with particular attention being paid to biodegradation, and (iii) to briefly consider bioremediation techniques that may be applied to remove aliphatic hydrocarbons from soil.