ORIGINAL PAPER
Fractionation and bioavailability of zinc in strongly acidic tea soils of northern Vietnam
1
Faculty of Resource Management, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Quyet Thang ward, 24119, Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam
2
Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, B200 Monobe Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan
Submission date: 2025-10-23
Final revision date: 2026-02-04
Acceptance date: 2026-05-11
Online publication date: 2026-05-11
Publication date: 2026-05-11
Corresponding author
Huu Chien Hoang
Faculty of Resource Management, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Viet Nam
Faculty of Resource Management, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Viet Nam
Soil Sci. Ann., 2026, 77(2)221699
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient for tea (Camellia sinensis) quality and productivity, yet its bioavailability in strongly acidic tea soils remains insufficiently understood. This study investigated the distribution of Zn fractions and their relationships with soil properties in tea garden soils of Thai Nguyen province, northern Vietnam. Zinc fractionation was determined using a sequential extraction procedure, and potentially available Zn was assessed by diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) extraction across different land uses (short-term tea cultivation, long-term tea cultivation, and adjacent forest soils) and soil types. Residual Zn (Res-Zn) constituted the dominant pool in all soils, followed by Fe oxide-bound Zn (FeO-Zn), organic matter-bound Zn (OM-Zn), acid-soluble Zn (Aci-Zn), Mn oxide-bound Zn (MnO-Zn), and exchangeable Zn (Ex-Zn). Statistical comparisons revealed that, among all Zn fractions, only FeO-Zn exhibited significant differences across tea cultivation duration, soil types, and land uses (p < 0.05), with significantly lower FeO-Zn contents in long-term tea plantations compared with short-term plantations and forest soils, indicating a cumulative effect of prolonged tea cultivation on Zn associated with Fe oxides under acidic conditions. Correlation analysis further showed that FeO-Zn was significantly related to soil pH and indicators of oxide crystallinity, whereas OM-Zn was positively associated with organic carbon content and cation exchange capacity. In addition, DTPA-Zn showed strong positive correlations with Ex-Zn, Aci-Zn, MnO-Zn, and OM-Zn, confirming that these relatively labile fractions contribute most to Zn bioavailability. Comparison with Mn fractionation in the same soils indicated contrasting controlling mechanisms, whereby Zn availability was primarily regulated by sorption-desorption processes and organic complexation, while Mn dynamics were more strongly influenced by oxide associations and redox-related transformations.
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