Effect of Organic Ligands on Biological Availability of Inorganic Phosphorus in Soils

Citrate, oxalate, tartrate and malate were added into soils during the growthperiod of ryegrass to study the effect of different organic ligands on the release of variousinorganic P (Pi) fractions in a yellow-brown soil and a paddy soil. The results showed that oxalatewas most effective in promoting the release of total Pi in the yellow-brown soil and tartrate in thepaddy soil. The dominant Pi fractions released from the yellow-brown soil were calcium phosphate(Ca-P) and aluminum phosphate (Al-P) and those from the paddy soil were iron phosphate (Fe-P) andreductant soluble phosphate (O-P) mobilized by tartrate. Phosphorous-mobilizing capability oforganic acids in the yellow-brown soil revealed the following order: oxalate > citrate > malate >tartrate. In the paddy soil, the order was tartrate > citrate ≈ oxalate > malate. It wasdemonstrated that organic ligands were different in their capabilities of mobilizing Pi and the sameorganic ligand showed also a discrepancy in mobilizing P in different soils. Although the additionof organic ligands into soils could increase the amount of P taken up by ryegrass, the more uptakeof P, however, was not only due to the more release of Pi, but also partly from organic P. In manycases, organic ligands promoted the release of the total Pi, while different fractions showeddifferent trends: some increased and others decreased.

Mobilization of Inorganic Phosphorus from Soils by Ectomycorrhizal Fungi

Ectomycorrhizal(EM) fungi could form symbiosis with plant roots and participate in nutrient absorption; however, many EM species commonly found in forest soils, where phosphorus(P) concentration and availability are usually very low, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas, have not yet been investigated for their efficiencies to mobilize soil P. In this study, fungal growth, P absorption,efflux of protons and organic acids, and soil P depletion by four isolates of EM fungi isolated either from acidic or calcareous soils were compared in pure liquid culture using soil as a sole P source. Boletus sp. 7(Bo 7), Lactarius deliciosus 3(Ld 3), and Pisolithus tinctorius 715(Pt 715) from acidic and P-deficient soils of southwestern China showed higher biomass and P concentration and accumulation than Cenococcum geophilum 4(Cg 4) from a calcareous soil of Inner Mongolia, northern China, after 4 weeks of liquid culture. Oxalate, malate, succinate, acetate, and citrate concentrations in the culture solutions varied significantly with fungal species,and oxalate accounted for 51.5%–91.4% of the total organic acids. Organic acids, particularly oxalate, in the culture solutions may lead to the solubilization of iron-bound P(Fe-P), aluminum-bound P(Al-P), and occluded P(O-P) from soil phosphates. Fungal species also varied greatly in proton efflux, which decreased the culture solution pH and may dissolve calcium-bound P(Ca-P) in soil.This could be the reason for the increment of both inorganic P in the culture solutions and Olsen P in the soil when EM fungi were present. Total inorganic P, the sum of Al-P, Fe-P, O-P, and Ca-P, in the culture solutions was positively correlated with the total concentration of organic acids in the culture solutions(r = 0.918*, n = 5), but negatively with both the total inorganic P in soil(r =-0.970**, n = 5) and the culture solution pH(r =-0.830*, n = 5). These suggested variable efficiencies of EM fungal species to mobilize inorganic P fractions from soil, which could make EM trees to utilize inorganic P in the same way like EM fungi and adapt to the soils with various P concentrations and availabilities.

Impacts of chicken manure and peat-derived biochars and inorganic P alone or in combination on phosphorus fractionation and maize growth in an acidic ultisol

The forms of phosphorus(P)in animal manure and peat are different from synthetic P fertilizers and will affect soil P fractions when they are used as P amendments.Effects of chicken manure(CMB)and peat(PB)derived biochars(CMB and PB)alone or in combination with P fertilizer(KH_(2)PO_(4))and rock phosphate(RP)on plant/soil health and soil P fractions in an acidic ultisol were examined with greenhouse pot experiments.The total P rate was constant at 120 mg kg^(−1) in all treatments.Soil P fractions,P uptake,and maize growth were determined after 56 days.Application of CMB combined with P fertilizer or alone significantly increased soil pH,water extractable and relatively labile P,dry matter yield of maize,chlorophyll contents in maize leaves,while decreasing the Fe and Al binding P.Moreover,sole application of CMB and PB showed greater effects than application of P fertilizer alone regarding plant growth and P fractionation.Integration of syn-thetic inorganic P sources with CMB or sole application of CMB is more beneficial than application of inorganic P sources to improve plant growth and P availability.

Effects of long-term phosphorus fertilization and straw incorporation on phosphorus fractions in subtropical paddy soil

Study on soil phosphorus（P） fraction is an important aspect in probing the mechanisms of soil P accumulation in farmland and mitigating its losing risk to the environment. We used a sequential extraction method to evaluate the impacts of long-term fertilization and straw incorporation on inorganic, organic, and residual P（Pi, Po, and Pre） fractions in the plow layer（0–20 cm） of acidic paddy soil in southern China. The experiment comprised of six treatments：（i） no fertilizer control（CK）;（ii） straw incorporation and green manure（SG）;（iii） nitrogen and P fertilizer（NP）;（iv） NP＋SG;（v） NP＋K fertilizer（NPK）; and（vi） NPK＋SG. The results showed that, compared to the initial total soil P content（TSP, 600 mg kg^–1 in 1990）, long-term（20 years） combined continuous P fertilizer and SG significantly increased P accumulation（by 13–20%） while single fertilization（39.3 kg P ha^–1 yr^–1） could maintain soil P status at the most. The average soil P fractions comprised of extractable Pi, Po, and Pre by 51.7, 33.4, and 14.9% in total soil P, respectively. With comparison of no fertilizer addition（CK）, long-term single fertilization significantly（P〈0.05） increased the accumulation of Na HCO3^–, Na OH^–, and HCl^– extractable Pi fractions accounting for two- to three-fold, while SG increased the accumulation of Na HCO3^– and Na OH^– extractable Piand Po accounting for 12–60%. Though the mobilization of Pre fractions was not significant（P〉0.05）, our data indicate that SG may partially substitute for fertilizer P input and minimizing soil P accumulation and subsequent environmental risk in the subtropical paddy soil.

Transformation of Applied Phosphorus in a Calcareous Fluvisol

A new inorganic phosphorus (IP) fractionation scheme developed by Jiang and Gu was used in an incubation experiment to investigate the transformation of applied P in a calcareous fluvisol. The results show that after addition of common superphosphate (CSP), the Ca2-P in the soil decreased gradually and transformed largely to the less available Fe-P, Al-P and Ca8-P, rather than to the unavailable forms of Ca10-P and O-P. The different IP fractions ranked in the following order with respect to the increment by addition of CSP after 120 days of incubation: Fe-P> Al-P>Ca8-P>Ca2-P. After addition of pig manure, the content of Ca2-P in the soil increased rapidly at first and then decreased slowly, and the amount of different IP fractions accumulated after 120 days of incubation ranked in the following order: Ca2-P > Fe-P > Ca8-P > Al-P. Evidently, the variation in content of Ca2-P and the order of increase in different IP fractions in incubation induced by application of pig manure were quite different from that of CSP. The increase in IP fractions in the incubation of broad bean green manure (BBGM)for 120 days was in the rank of Fe-P > Ca2-P > Ca8-P > Al-P; but because organic phosphorus (OP) of BBGM degraded relatively slowly, the increment in IP fractions was lower than that of pig manure. Wheat straw was difficult to mineralize and induced a strong biological fixation of soil P, resulting in a decrease of the content of Ca2-P, even Ca8-P, Fe-P and Al-P.

Soil Phosphorus Fractions Change in Winter in a Corn-Soybean Rotation with Tillage and Phosphorus Fertilization

Determining how agricultural management practices affect soil phosphorus(P) over the winter may further our understanding of the soil P cycle under specific environmental conditions in eastern Canada. This study assessed changes over winter for soil P fractions and other selected chemical properties as affected by tillage and P fertilization. In 1992, a long-term corn(Zea mays L.) and soybean(Glycine max L.) rotational experiment was established in the province of Quebec, Canada. Soil samples(0–15 cm) were collected in fall 2001 and 2007 after a soybean harvest, and in the following spring 2002 and 2008 before corn seeding, in main plots under moldboard plow and no-till managements and selected subplots fertilized with 0, 17.5, or 35 kg P ha-1and 160 kg N ha-1. Soil samples were analyzed for P fractions and other chemical properties to assess changes over winter for 2001–2002 and 2007–2008. Changes over winter of all soil P fractions were significant for the two periods, indicating the occurrence of soil P transformation and movement over winter. The Mehlich-3-extractable Fe, Al, Ca, and Mg decreased during the two studied periods. Tillage had no significant effect on all soil P fractions. The resin-extractable P in 2001–2002 and Na HCO3-extractable inorganic P and Na OH-extractable organic P during the two winters were significantly increased under P fertilization. This study demonstrated that P in cultivated soils changed during winter as a result of changes in labile P fractions possibly due to the solubilization of residual fertilizer P combined with environmental factors.

Changes in Olsen P in Relation to P Balance in Contrasting Agricultural Soils

Maintaining soil phosphorus （P） at adequate levels for plant growth requires assessing how the long-term P balance （viz., the difference between P inputs and outputs） results in changes in soil test P. The hypothesis that routinely measured soil properties can help predict the conversion factor of P balance into Olsen P was tested at 39 sites in agricultural areas of the Mediterranean region in Spair~. A set of soil samples from each site was analyzed for Olsen P, inorganic P （P extracted using 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4）, pseudototal P （P extracted using 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4 following ignition at 550 ~C）, and organic P （the difference between pseudototal P and inorganic P）. Organic and Olsen P were uncorrelated in most of the 39 soil sets, which suggests that organic P content changed little with P inputs and outputs. The slopes of the regression lines of Olsen P against pseudototal and inorganic P, which were used as two different measures of the conversion factor, ranged widely （from 0.03 to 0.25 approximately）, with their average values （about 0.10） being similar to those found in long-term experiments conducted in temperate areas. Neither conversion factor was significantly correlated with any routinely measured soil property; however, the conversion factor for inorganic P was significantly lower for calcareous soils than for noncalcareous soils. Our negative results suggest the need to isolate the influence of soil properties from that of management systems and environmental factors relating to P dynamics in future studies.