Contribution by different organic fractions to triazines sorption in Calcaric Regosol amended with raw and biotransformed olive cake

A soil, olive cake, compost and vermicompost of olive cake, were subjected to sequential laboratory extraction to progressively remove water-soluble, lipid and alkali-soluble (humic-type) fractions. Sorption experiments with triazines were carried out with non-amended and amended soil and with soil residues in the intermediate stages during the laboratory removal of the different organic fractions. Herbicide sorption in soil amended with olive cake was between two and three times higher than sorption in composted substrates. In non-amended soil, the removal of humic and fulvic acids led to a decrease of triazines sorption indicating the importance of these fractions in the sorption of these pesticides. The greater triazines sorption in soil amended with olive cake could be associated with the high concentration of water-soluble substances. In contrast, olive cake lipids did not favour the sorption of the more hydrophobic herbicides as indicated by the fact that the sorbed amount increased 30-40% when this fraction was removed. No significant (P > 0.05) differences in K-oc values were found in soils amended with compost and vermicompost in the course of the progressive removal of the different organic fractions, indicating triazine sorption was related more with the total amount of organic matter than with its chemical composition. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.