Abstract:
To investigate the soil acidification and changes in aluminum(Al)and rare earth elements(REEs)content in the soil tea system of tea gardens in Fujian Province, typical tea areas in Anxi(38), Jianou(12), and Shouning(10)were selected as the research objects. Tea garden soil(tea planting soil), soil near tea gardens without tea planting(natural soil), as well as old, mature, and tender tea leaves samples were collected according to the tea planting years, and the soil physical and chemical properties and Al and REEs content in the samples were analyzed. The results showed that the pH range of tea planting soil in typical tea gardens in Fujian was 3.49-5.59, with soil samples below pH 4.5 accounting for as much as 87.5%. The content of available phosphorus and available potassium in tea planting soil was significantly higher than that in natural soil. Compared with natural soil, the pH of tea planting soil in Shouning, Jianou, and Anxi tea gardens decreases with the increase of tea planting years, and the exchangeable Al content in tea planting soil significantly increases, while the exchangeable calcium and magnesium content decreases. Especially, the Al content in Anxi tea planting soil is significantly higher than that in natural soil, Shouning and Jianou tea planting soil, and natural soil. The average content of 15 types of REEs in typical tea garden soils in Fujian is 247.632 mg·kg
−1, which is higher than the world and Chinese soil average levels. Among them, cerium(Ce)and lanthanum(La)account for 62% of the total REE content. There is a significant positive correlation between pH and total REE content, while soil alkaline nitrogen content is highly significantly negatively correlated with total REE content. In tea, the Al content significantly increases with leaf age, with the Al content in old leaves reaching 15.3-28.5 times that of young leaves; The Al content in the old, mature, and tender leaves of Anxi tea garden is higher than that in Jianou and Shouning. The absorption of total REEs by tea is mainly dominated by light REEs, which account for more than 70% of the total REE content. The total REE content in Shouning and Anxi is significantly higher than that in Jianou, and the light REE content in Shouning is significantly higher than that in Jianou; The total REE content in old leaves is 10-15 times that of young leaves, with light REE absorption being the main factor. This study reveals the relationship between soil acidification and Al accumulation in Fujian tea gardens, as well as the enrichment characteristics of Al and REEs in tea leaves, providing a scientific basis for soil management and tea quality and safety in tea gardens.