Chemical and textural controls on phosphorus mobility in drylands of southeastern Utah

• Published in: Biogeochemistry Vol. 100; no. 1-3; pp. 105 - 120
• Main Authors: Buckingham, Susan E, Neff, Jason, Titiz-Maybach, Beyhan, Reynolds, Richard L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 01.09.2010; Springer; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acid soils; Arid zones; Available phosphorus; Biochemistry; Biogeosciences; Canyonlands National Park; Carbonates; Clay minerals; Clay soils; Desert soils; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Ecosystems; Emission spectroscopy; Environmental Chemistry; Exact sciences and technology; Fractionation; Geochemistry; Hedley fractions; Life Sciences; Minerals; Occluded phosphorus; Organic soils; P stabilization; Pedogenesis; Phosphorus; Physical properties; Research methodology; Soil and rock geochemistry; Soil biogeochemistry; Soil chemistry; Soil formation; Soil samples; Soil sciences; Soil texture; Soils; Sorption; Surficial geology; Canyonlands National Park; Colorado Plateau; United States; Utah; United States > US; Occluded phosphorus; Soil biogeochemistry; Available phosphorus; Canyonlands National Park; Hedley fractions; P stabilization; physical properties; mobility; oxides; stabilization; textures; inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy; aluminum; North America; sorption; bedrock; sheet silicates; silicates; soils; phosphorus; fractionation; ligands; concentration; carbonates; emission spectroscopy; clay minerals; inductively coupled plasma
• ISSN: 0168-2563; 1573-515X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10533-010-9408-7

We investigated several forms of phosphorus (P) in dryland soils to examine the chemical and textural controls on P stabilization on a diverse set of substrates. We examined three P fractions including labile, moderately labile, and occluded as determined by a modified Hedley fractionation technique. The P fractions were compared to texture measurements and total elemental concentrations determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Labile P related to the absence of materials involved in P sorption. Moderately labile P was most strongly associated with high total Al & Fe content that we interpret to represent oxides and 1:1 clay minerals. The occluded P fraction was strongly associated with low total Al & Fe environments and interpreted to represent 2:1 clay minerals where ligand exchange tightly sequesters P. The results indicate that the controls on P fraction distribution are initially closely tied to the chemical and physical properties of the bedrock units that contribute to soil formation. Further, these results suggest that the progression of stabilized P forms in dryland areas differs from the progression observed in mesic environments. Soil development in dryland settings, such as the formation of pedogenic carbonates, may lead to differing controls on P availability and the proportional size of the moderately labile fraction.