Enviromental dynamics of chlorine in water and soil - transport patterns and transformation rates

自20世纪40年代以来，氯化物在土壤中的保守性被广泛接受，氯化物通常被用作流域内其他物质预算计算中的保守示踪剂。然而，过去十年的研究表明，氯化物参与了一个复杂的生物地球化学循环。有强有力的证据表明，土壤中广泛的氯化作用（氯的消耗）是微生物活动的结果，而氯化有机物的降解（氯的释放）主要是生物的还是非生物的，目前仍不清楚。然而，很明显，土壤既可以作为氯的汇，也可以作为氯的来源，这取决于是矿化还是形成/挥发/浸出过程占主导地位。

Since the 1940s, it has been widely accepted to assume that chloride is conservative in soil and chloride is commonly used as a conservative tracer in budget calculations of other substances within watersheds. However, the past decade of research suggests that chloride participates in a complex biogeochemical cycle. There is strong evidence that a widespread chlorination (consumption of chloride) in soil as a result of microbial activity whereas it is still unknown whether degradation of chlorinated organic matter (release of chloride) is mainly biotic or abiotic. However, it is clear that soil can act both as a sink and a source of chloride, depending on whether the mineralization or formation/volatilization/leaching processes dominate.