Subsoils—a sink for excess fertilizer P but a minor contribution to P plant nutrition: evidence from long-term fertilization trials

Background The phosphorus (P) stocks of arable subsoils not only influence crop production but also fertilizer P sequestration. However, the extent of this influence is largely unknown. This study aimed to (i) determine the extent of P sequestration with soil depth, (ii) analyze P speciation after long-term P fertilization, and (iii) compare soil P tests in predicting crop yields. We analyzed four long-term fertilizer trials in Germany to a depth of 90 cm. Treatments received either mineral or organic P, or a combination of both, for 16 to 113 years. We determined inorganic and organic P pools using sequential extraction, and P speciation using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. In addition, we applied three P soil tests, double-lactate (DL), calcium acetate lactate (CAL), and diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT). Results The results suggested that plants are capable of mobilizing P from deeper soil layers when there is a negative P budget of the topsoil. However, fertilization mostly only showed insignificant effects on P pools, which were most pronounced in the topsoil, with a 1.6- to 4.4-fold increase in labile inorganic P (Pi; resin-P, NaHCO3–Pi) after mineral fertilization and a 0- to 1.9-fold increase of organic P (Po; NaHCO3–Po, NaOH–Po) after organic P fertilization. The differences in Po and Pi speciation were mainly controlled by site-specific factors, e.g., soil properties or soil management practice rather than by fertilization. When modeling crop yield response using the Mitscherlich equation, we obtained the highest R2 (R2 = 0.61, P < 0.001) among the soil P tests when using topsoil PDGT. However, the fit became less pronounced when incorporating the subsoil. Conclusion We conclude that if the soil has a good P supply, the majority of P taken up by plants originates from the topsoil and that the DGT method is a mechanistic surrogate of P plant uptake. Thus, DGT is a basis for optimization of P fertilizer recommendation to add as much P fertilizer as required to sustain crop yields but as low as necessary to prevent harmful P leaching of excess fertilizer P.

Four soil phosphorus (P) tests evaluated by plant P uptake and P balancing in the Ultuna long-term field experiment

Soil phosphorus (P) availability was assessed with four different soil P tests on seven soils of the Ultuna long-term field experiment (Sweden). These four soil P tests were (1) P-H₂O (water extractable P); (2) P-H₂O_C10 (water extractable P upon 10 consecutive extractions); (3) P-AL (ammonium lactate extractable P) and (4) P-C_DGT (P desorbable using diffusive gradients in thin films). The suitability of these soil P tests to predict P availability was assessed by correlation with plant P uptake (mean of preceding 11 years) and soil P balancing (input vs. output on plot level for a period of 54 years). The ability to predict these parameters was in the order P-H₂O_C10 &gt; P-C_DGT &gt; P-H₂O &gt; P-AL. Thus, methods considering the P-resupply from the soil solid phase to soil solution performed clearly better than equilibrium-based extractions. Our findings suggest that the P-AL test, commonly used for P-fertilizer recommendations in Sweden, could not predict plant P uptake and the soil P balance in a satisfying way in the analysed soils.

Soil phosphorus tests I: What soil phosphorus pools and processes do they measure?

The phosphorus (P) status of 535 surface soils from all states of Australia was assessed using the following soil P tests: Colwell-P (0.5 m NaHCO3), Olsen-P (0.5 m NaHCO3), BSES-P (0.005 m H2SO4), and Mehlich 3-P (0.2 m CH3COOH + 0.25 m NH4NO3 + 0.015 m NH4F + 0.013 m HNO3 + 0.001 m EDTA). Results were correlated with soil P assays selected to estimate the following: soil solution P concentration (i.e. 0.01 m CaCl2 extractable P; Colwell-P/P buffer index); rate of P supply to the soil solution (i.e. P released to FeO-impregnated filter paper); sorbed P (i.e. Colwell-P); mineral P (i.e. fertiliser reaction products and/or soil P minerals estimated as BSES-P minus Colwell-P); the diffusive supply of P (i.e. P diffusing through a thin gel film, DGT-P); and P buffer capacity (i.e. single-point P buffer index corrected for Colwell-P, PBICol). Across all soils, Colwell-P and BSES-P were highly correlated with FeO-P (r = 0.76 and 0.58, respectively). Colwell-P was moderately correlated with mineral P (r = 0.24), but not solution P. Olsen-P and Mehlich-P were both highly correlated with FeO-P (r = 0.80 and 0.78, respectively) but, in contrast to Colwell-P and BSES-P, also showed moderate correlations with soil solution P (r = 0.29 and 0.34, respectively) and diffusive P supply (r = 0.31 and 0.49, respectively). Correlation coefficients with mineral P were r = 0.29 for Olsen-P and r = 0.17 for Mehlich-P. Soils were categorised according to their pH, clay activity ratio, content of mineral P and CaCO3 content, and the relationships between the empirical soil P tests examined for each soil category. Olsen-P and Colwell-P were correlated across all soil categories (r range 0.66–0.90), and a widely applicable linear equation was obtained for converting one soil test to the other. However, the correlations between other soil tests varied markedly between soil categories and it was not possible to develop such widely applicable conversion equations. Multiple step-up linear regressions were used to identify the key soil properties affecting soil solution P, P buffer capacity, and diffusive P supply, respectively. For all soil categories, solution P concentration (measured by CaCl2-P) increased as rate of P supply (measured as FeO-P) increased and P buffer capacity decreased. As an assay of sorbed P, Colwell-P alone did not significantly (P > 0.05) explain any of the variability in soil solution P, but when used in the index (Colwell-P/P buffer index), it was highly correlated (r = 0.74) with CaCl2-P. Soil P buffer capacity was dependent on different properties in different soil categories, with 45–65% of the variation in PBI accounted for by various combinations of Mehlich-Al, Mehlich-Fe, total organic C, clay content, clay activity ratio, and CaCO3 content, depending on soil category. The diffusive supply of P was primarily determined by rate of P supply (measured as FeO-P; r range 0.34–0.49), with significant (P < 0.05) small improvements due to the inclusion of PBICol and/or clay content, depending on soil category. For these surface soil samples, key properties of pH, clay activity ratio, clay content, and P buffer capacity varied so widely within individual Australian Soil Orders that soil classification was not useful for inferring intrinsic surface soil P properties such as P buffer capacity or the relationships between soil P tests.

Calibration of methods for soil and diagnostic plant analysis in the Hungarian National Fertilization Long-term Trials. I. Comparison of soil P tests for agronomic purposes in the soils of long-term experiments

A szabadföldi trágyázási (tartam)kísérletek eredményeit talaj-, illetve diagnosztikai célú növényvizsgálatok segítségével tudjuk kiterjeszteni, általánosítani – figyelembe véve természetesen a kiterjesztés korlátait is. Célszerűnek láttuk ezen túl a talaj könnyen oldható tápelem-, közöttük P-tartalmát is meghatározni a hazánkban hivatalosan elfogadott AL- (ammónium-laktátos) módszer mellett az Európai Unióban és Észak-Amerikában alkalmazott P-tesztekkel is (CaCl2-, H2O-, Olsen-, Bray1-, LE-, Mehlich3- stb.) a hazai OMTK kísérletek talajmintáiban. A kísérleti helyek talajtulajdonságaiban megnyilvánuló jelentős különbségek lehetőséget adnak rá, hogy a talaj P-teszteket – és a növényi P-felvételt – jellegzetes hazai talajokon, sokszor szélsőséges talajparaméterek mellett vizsgáljuk. Az egyes P-szintek között a 28 év átlagában mintegy évi 50 kg P2O5·ha-1volt a különbség. A P0-szinten mért P-tartalmak jól jelezték az egyes kísérleti helyek talajának eltérő P-ellátottságát, illetve, közvetve, fizikai féleségében, pH és mészállapotában meglévő különbségeket. A P2-szinten – a hazai talajokra, P-igényes növényekre a hazai szabadföldi P-trágyázási tartamkísérleti adatbázisban talált összefüggésekre alapozott – új AL-P határértékek szerint csupán a bicsérdi csernozjom barna erdőtalajon nem javult a P-ellátottság legalább a „jó” szintig. Vizsgálataink megerősítették az AL-módszer függőségét a CaCO3-tartalomtól: a Mehlich3 módszerrel való összefüggésben a karbonátmentes és a karbonátos talajok csoportja erőteljesen elkülönült egymástól. Az AL-P korrekció elvégzése, azaz az AL-P értékeknek egy standard talajtulajdonság-sorra való konvertálása (KA: 36; pH(KCl): 6,8; CaCO3: 0,1%) látványosan csökkentette az AL-módszernek a talaj CaCO3-tartalmától való függőségét. Az AL-P és Olsen-P, valamint a korrigált AL-P és Olsen-P tartalmak összehasonlításában ugynakkor ugyanez az összefüggés nem volt állapítható, ami arra utal, hogy az Olsen módszer bizonyos fokig szintén pH- és mészállapot függő. Kísérleti eredményeink megerősítették a Sarkadi-féle AL-P korrekciós modell helytálló voltát. Fenti megállapításunkat ugyanakkor a növényi P-tartalmakkal való összefüggéseknek is igazolniuk kell. Szükséges tehát a talajvizsgálati eredményeknek a diagnosztikai célú növényvizsgálatokkal, valamint a terméseredményekkel való összevetése. A tartamkísérletek talajai lehetőséget nyújtanak a környezetvédelmi célú P-vizsgálatok értékelésére, a talaj P-feltöltöttsége környezeti kockázatának becslésére. Ezekkel a kérdésekkel a cikksorozat további részeiben kívánunk foglalkozni.

A comparison of some surface soil phosphorus tests that could be used to assess P export potential

Phosphorus (P) exports from agricultural land are a problem world-wide and soil tests are often used to identify high risk areas. A recent study investigated changes in soil (0–20 mm), soil water and overland flow in 4 recently laser-graded (<1 year) and 4 established (laser-graded >10 years) irrigated pastures in south-eastern Australia before and after 3 years of irrigated dairy production. We use the results from that study to briefly examine the relationships between a series of ‘agronomic’ (Olsen P, Colwell P), environmental (water-extractable P, calcium chloride extractable P, P sorption saturation, and P sorption), and other (total P, organic P) soil P tests. Of the 2 ‘agronomic’ soil P tests, Colwell P explained 91% of the variation in Olsen P, and Colwell P was better correlated with the other soil tests. With the exception of P sorption, all soil P tests explained 57% or more of the total variation in Colwell P, while they explained 61% or less of Olsen P possibly due to the importance of organic P in this soil. Variations in total P were best explained by the organic P (85%), Calcium chloride extractable P (83%), water-extractable P (78%), and P sorption saturation (76%). None of the tests adequately predicted the variation in P sorption at 5 mg P/L equilibrating solution concentration. The results of this limited study highlight the variability between soil P tests that may be used to estimate P loss potential. Moreover, these results suggest that empirical relationships between specific soil P tests and P export potential will have limited resolution where different soil tests are used, as the errors in the relationship between soil test P and P loss potential are compounded by between test variation. We conclude that broader study is needed to determine the relationships between soil P tests for Australian soils, and based on that study a standard protocol for assessing the potential for P loss should be developed.

THE BRAY, MEHLICH AND KELOWNA SOIL P TESTS AS AFFECTED BY SOIL CARBONATES

A study was conducted with five soil P tests (Bray P1 (1:10), Bray P1 (1:50), Mehlich II, Kelowna I and Kelowna II) to determine the effect of soil carbonates on postextraction pH and on the correlation between soil and plant P concentration. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was grown on five calcareous and six noncalcareous soils fertilized at 0 and 90 μg P mL−1 in a growth room experiment. The ability of the extradants to maintain a low pH with calcareous soils was poorest for the Bray P1 (1:10) followed by the Mehlich II, Kelowna I, Kelowna II and Bray P1 (1:50). The Bray P1 (1:10) did not give a statistically significant correlation coefficient between soil and plant P concentration with the calcareous soils, while the other methods did. Key words: Soil testing, calcareous soils, Bray P1, Mehlich II, Kelowna I, Kelowna II