Comparing two theories about the nature of soil phosphate

Two theories about the nature of phosphate in soil are current. One holds that soil phosphate is mostly present as particles of iron, aluminium and calcium phosphates: the precipitate‐particulate theory. The other holds that phosphate is mostly adsorbed and penetrates heterogeneous, variable‐charge...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inEuropean journal of soil science Vol. 72; no. 2; pp. 679 - 685
Main Author Barrow, N. J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2021
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects
Aluminium
Aluminum
Calcium
Calcium phosphates
Fertilization
iron
P availability and pH
P fertilising
P fractions
P penetration
P sorption
Phosphate
Phosphates
Soil
Soils
Theories
variable charge
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Two theories about the nature of phosphate in soil are current. One holds that soil phosphate is mostly present as particles of iron, aluminium and calcium phosphates: the precipitate‐particulate theory. The other holds that phosphate is mostly adsorbed and penetrates heterogeneous, variable‐charge particles: the adsorption‐penetration theory. This is the only theory that is consistent with and can be deduced from observations. It is my contention that the persistence of the precipitate‐particulate theory leads to: wasted research effort in trying to identify the supposed phosphate fractions; failure to recognize the long‐term changes in soil phosphate due to repeated applications, and thus to over‐fertilisation; and misapprehension about the effects of pH on phosphate availability.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
content type line 23
ISSN:1351-0754
1365-2389
DOI:10.1111/ejss.13027