Preferential sorption of phenolic phytotoxins to soil: Implications for altering the availability of allelochemicals

Allelopathy, secondary metabolite-mediated plant-to-plant interaction, is gaining application in current agricultural science as well as in invasion ecology. However, the role of sorption to soil in modifying the bioavailability of components in complex allelochemical mixtures is still obscure. Hence, the role of preferential sorption to soil in altering the chemical composition of plant exudates was studied in a silt loam soil using representative mixtures of plant phenolic acids, namely, hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, coumaric acid, and ferulic acid. The experiment was conducted using a batch equilibration technique, and data were fitted to a Freundlich isotherm. The concentration-dependent sorption coefficient (K-d) at 10 mu g mL(-1) was used to assess the sorption affinity of phenolic acids across different systems. Along with solid phase dissolution, all of the phenolic acids exhibited strong site-specific sorption, as evident from their nonlinear isotherms. Removal of organic matter substantially decreased the sorption affinity of all phenolic acids. Direct competition for sorption sites was observed even at low concentrations of phenolic acids. The K-d of hydroxybenzoic acid was decreased more than 90% in the presence of coumaric acid. About 95% of sorbed vanillic acid was displaced into the soil solution in the presence of ferulic acid. Hydroxybenzoic acid did not affect the sorption affinity of other phenolic acids significantly, whereas ferulic acid showed low displacement by other phenolic acids. The displacement pattern indicated directional sorption of phenolic acids with -OH and -COOH groups. Soil organic matter was associated with preferential sorption. This is the first study to elucidate competitive sorption characteristics of plant secondary metabolites in soil matrix. The results demonstrate that preferential sorption to soil can alter the availability of plant exudates in mixtures and thus may mediate their phytotoxic effects.