Identification of soil P fractions that are associated with P loss from surface runoff under various cropping systems and fertilizer rates on sloped farmland

PLoS One. 2017 Jun 26;12(6):e0179275. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179275. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Soil phosphorus (P) fractions and runoff P concentration were measured to understand the fate of soil P entering surface runoff water during summer cropping season of different double cropping systems under two fertilizer regimes. The dominant form of runoff P was particulate P (PP). Runoff total P (TP) was higher at the vegetative growth stage and lower at the crop reproductive stage. TP and PP were derived mainly from soil Olsen-P, Al-P and Fe-P and amounts increased with sediment content in runoff water. Runoff P discharge was closely related to the changes in soil P forms. Soil Olsen-P, mainly consisting of some Ca2-P and Al-P, was increased by elevating fertilizer rate. Along with crop growth, there were active interconversions among Olsen-P, Org-P, Fe-P and O-Al-P in the soil, and some available P converted into Ca10-P, with O-Fe-P possibly being a transitional form for this conversion. The oilseed rape/corn system had less runoff TP at the early stage, and wheat/sweet potato system had a lower runoff P at the late stage. Intercropping corn with sweet potato in the field with oilseed rape as a previous crop may be helpful for alleviating runoff P load during the summer in this region.

MeSH terms

  • Agriculture
  • Environmental Monitoring*
  • Eutrophication*
  • Fertilizers / analysis*
  • Phosphorus / analysis*
  • Soil / chemistry*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

  • Fertilizers
  • Soil
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Phosphorus

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant no. SQ2017YFNC060063) and Research and Demonstration on Agro-Ecological Restoration Technology in Danjiangkou Reservoir Region for the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (grant no. 2007BAD87B09).