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Organic and inorganic phosphorus forms in soil as affected by long-term application of organic amendments

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Abstract

Organic amendments contribute significantly to the phosphorus (P) supply in agroecosystems. However, their long-term effects on specific P forms in soils are not completely understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the concentration of organic P forms and inorganic P pools in soil and the activity of enzymes involved in the P turnover in a long-term field experiment running since 1998 in Northern Germany as affected by P amendments. The following treatments with different P supplies were sampled in 2012, 14 years after the establishment of the experiment: control (no P), cattle manure (manure), biowaste compost (compost), and biowaste compost in combination with triple-superphosphate (compost + TSP). The classification of organic P forms by using enzyme additions to NaOH–EDTA soil extracts showed non-hydrolyzable organic P as the dominant form in soil followed by inositol hexakisphosphate (Ins6P)-like P. Non-hydrolyzable and total organic P concentrations in soil were highest in the combined compost + TSP treatment, which received the highest amount of inorganic P. The values of the bioavailable P pools (water-extractable P and double lactate-extractable P) were in accordance with the P balance (P addition with the amendments minus P removal with harvested crops) independently of the type of amendment. The results of this research suggest that the distribution of soil P forms is more reliant on the turnover processes in the soil than on the forms of P added.

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Acknowledgments

M.I. Requejo is thankful for the grant conceded by the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Spanish Agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Centre El Chaparrillo, Consejería de Agricultura Castilla-La Mancha, Alarcos 21, Ciudad Real, Spain

    María Isabel Requejo

  2. Chair of Agronomy and Crop Science, University of Rostock, J. von Liebig Weg 6, Rostock, Germany

    Bettina Eichler-Löbermann

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  1. María Isabel Requejo
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Correspondence to Bettina Eichler-Löbermann.

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Requejo, M.I., Eichler-Löbermann, B. Organic and inorganic phosphorus forms in soil as affected by long-term application of organic amendments. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 100, 245–255 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-014-9642-9

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