Content and Distribution of Fluorine in Soil Catenas of the Kulunda Plain

Abstract

The content and distribution of fluorine in two soil catenas located in the basins of the Burla and Kulunda rivers on the territory of the Kulunda Plain have been studied. The use of the catena method makes it possible to compare the content of fluorine in soils of different geochemical positions of the relief, in zonal and intrazonal soils. It is not just the presence of fluorine in soils that matters, but its concentration, which underlies the dual nature of its biological role, positive or negative, and this requires sanitary and hygienic standards for its content. In the studied soils, the total content of fluorine varies from 13.9 to 711.03 mg/kg; the water-soluble form varies from 0 to 34.65 mg/kg. It is found that, in saline solonetzes developing in superaquatic landscapes, the content of total and water-soluble fluorine have, respectively, ecologically critical and unacceptable concentrations; therefore, the use of these soils in agricultural production is associated with the risk of accumulation of excess amounts of fluorine in the body of animals and humans.