Adsorption isotherms, degradation kinetics, and leaching behaviors of cyanogen and hydrogen cyanide in eight texturally different agricultural soils from China

Cyanogen (C2N2) is a new and effective alternative soil fumigant to methyl bromide. The effects of soil properties on the fate of C2N2 and its degradation products, including hydrogen cyanide (HCN), are not fully understood. The objectives of this study were to determine the adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, and degradation kinetics of C2N2 and HCN in texturally different soils and evaluate their leaching potentials using soil columns. Eight agricultural soils were collected throughout China: Luvisols (Hebei Province), Phaeozems (Heilongjiang Province), Gleysols (Sichuan Province), Anthrosols (Zhejiang Province), Ferralsols (Jiangxi Province), Lixisols (Hubei Province), Alisols (Shandong Province), and Plinthosols (Hainan Province). The adsorptions of C2N2 and HCN in C2N2-fumigated soils were positively correlated with organic matter and clay contents. For a C2N2 dose of 100 mg kg(-1), the adsorptions of C2N2 and HCN were highest in Phaeozems and lowest in Gleysols according to their adsorption coefficients (15.744 and 3.119, respectively). No significant difference in the half-life of C2N2 and HCN was observed between sterilized and unsterilized soils, indicating that abiotic degradation was predominant in the degradation of C2N2 and HCN. After leaching, the residual C2N2, HCN, NH4+-N, and NO3--N concentrations in C2N2-fumigated Phaeozems were highest within 15 cm of the soil surface (30, 20, 19.68, and 10.41 mg kg(-1) soil, respectively). The results indicate that C2N2 and HCN have short lifetimes and low leaching potentials in agricultural soils, even under heavy rainfall conditions. The findings demonstrate that C2N2 and HCN resulting from fumigation will not accumulate in the soil and are not likely to contaminate groundwater.