Liming of Acid Soils As a Management Method of the Microelement Composition of Cultivated Plants and Elementary Status of Human Beings and Animals

The influence of deficiency and excess of essential microelements (Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, B, Co, and Mo) on human beings, farm animals, and crops and factors affecting their distribution in the soil–plant system are considered. It is shown that liming of acid soils exerts a significant and long-term impact on the availability of microelements for plants and may result in their deficiency in food and animal feed. This technique of soil fertility enhancement affects the elemental status of human beings and farm animals and should be considered as an additional health risk factor. It is shown that the decrease in the yield of many crop plants when complete lime rates are applied may be largely associated with a lack of mobile microelement compounds in the soil. It has been substantiated that, to control the element composition of cultivated plants, the rates of lime ameliorants should maintain the soil acidity at levels that ensure optimal contents of mobile compounds of vital microelements. The deficiency of microelements (Cu, Zn, B, Co, and Mn) in limed soils may be compensated by micronutrient fertilizers.