Changes in soil phosphorus fractions in response to long-term phosphate fertilization under sole cropping and intercropping of maize and faba bean on a calcareous soil

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 463; no. 1/2; pp. 589 - 600
• Main Authors: Liao, Dan, Zhang, Chaochun, Lambers, Hans, Zhang, Fusuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer Science + Business Media 01.06.2021; Springer International Publishing; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accumulation; Agricultural practices; Agricultural production; Analysis; Beans; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Broad beans; Calcareous soils; Corn; Cropping systems; Crops; Depletion; Ecology; Efficiency; Experiments; Faba bean; faba beans; Fertilization; Fertilizers; Fractionation; Growth; Intercropping; Legumes; Life Sciences; Methods; Mineralization; phosphates; Phosphatic fertilizers; Phosphorus; Phosphorus content; phosphorus fertilizers; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plot (Narrative); Regular Article; REGULAR ARTICLES; Sodium bicarbonate; Sodium hydroxide; Soil Science & Conservation; Soils; Sole cropping; Australia; China; Maize/faba bean intercropping; P fertilizer; Long‐term experiments; P fractionation
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-021-04915-y

Background and aims Understanding how soil phosphorus (P) fractions change is critical to achieve more efficient soil P use in a highly P-sorbing calcareous soil. Methods The fields were managed without or with annual P fertilizer (40 kg P ha − 1 ), continuously growing sole cropping or intercropping of maize and faba bean. Soil samples (0–200 mm) were collected at the start of the experiment and eight years later, and we evaluated P fractions using sequential fractionation. Results Maize/faba bean intercropping had an average land equivalent ratio (LER) of 1.2, a similar P content as sole maize, while both acquired more P than sole faba bean. Compared with the original soil P fractions in 2009, three cropping systems, regardless of P fertilization, depleted the labile P pool (Resin-P and NaHCO 3 -P i ), while Residual-P and NaHCO 3 -P o accumulated. Eight years of no P input showed sole maize mainly depleted NaOH-P i and conc. HCl-P i , sole faba bean depleting NaOH-P o , while intercropping depleted the most abundant P fraction, 1 M HCl-P i , in addition to NaOH-P i . However, long-term P application caused the cropping systems to accumulate 1 M HCl-P i while depleting the conc. HCl-P o fraction; both sole faba bean and intercropping showed accumulation of NaOH-P i , while depleting NaOH-P o . Conclusions Long-term appropriate P input enhanced the mineralization of mod-labile and non-labile organic P and accumulation of mod-labile inorganic P. Sole maize consistently depleted inorganic P and sole faba bean without P input depleted organic P, while intercropping accessed P pools varying with P input.