『Abstract
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.
Keywords: Available phosphorus; Canyonlands National Park; Hedley
fractions; Occluded phosphorus; Soil biogeochemistry; P stabilization
』
Introduction
Methods
Study area
Diversity of parent materials
Sampling design
Chemical and mineralogical analyses
Particle-size measurements and soil-texture classification
Hedley fractionation
Statistical design
Results
Chemical and textural distributions
Descriptive statistics: zero order correlations
Simple regression
Predictive regressions using textural moderators
Modeled regression for labile P
Modeled regression for moderately labile P
Modeled regression for occluded P
Discussion
Labile P
Moderately labile P
Occluded P
Implication for landscape scale P
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References