Copper in the Soil

Copper is regarded as one of the most versatile of all agriculturally important microelements in its ability to interact with soil mineral and organic components (96). Copper can occur as ionic and complexed copper in soil solution, as an exchangeable cation or as a specifically absorbed ion, complexed in organic matter, occluded in oxides, and in minerals (97). The type of soil copper extraction methodology greatly influences recovery (98). However, soil copper levels in soils correlate very poorly with plant accumulation and plant tissue levels.