Increasing plant availability of legacy phosphorus in calcareous soils using some phosphorus activators

Zedong Teng; Jing Zhu; Wen Shao; Keyao Zhang; Min Li; Michael J Whelan

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109952

Increasing plant availability of legacy phosphorus in calcareous soils using some phosphorus activators

J Environ Manage. 2020 Feb 15:256:109952. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109952. Epub 2019 Dec 9.

Authors

Zedong Teng¹, Jing Zhu², Wen Shao¹, Keyao Zhang¹, Min Li³, Michael J Whelan⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China; Hubei Institute of Urban Planning and Design, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
³ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China. Electronic address: minli@bjfu.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

PMID: 31818749
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109952

Abstract

Legacy phosphorus (P) in soil, accumulated over several years of fertilizer application in excess of crop demand, represents a huge and largely untapped resource. P activators can increase the availability of this P to plants by accelerating its transformation into soluble P fractions. In this study, we evaluated the potentials of four "P activators" (oxalic acid, lignin, phytase and ascorbic acid) to increase plant available P in a laboratory incubation experiment with two P-deficient calcareous soils used for wheat production. Samples were analysed for Olsen P, phosphomonoesterase and with Hedley sequential P fractionation. All four treatments had significant effects on different soil P fractions. Oxalic acid mainly enhanced inorganic P (P_i) solubility from the HCl-extractable P pool. Lignin enhanced P lability from the NaOH-, HCl- and residual-P pools. Phytase and ascorbic acid principally affected the organic P fractions (P_o). Oxalic acid and lignin showed most potential to improve P (H₂O-P, NaHCO₃-P_i and NaHCO₃-P_o) availability, which increased by 110-419% and 4.1-122%, respectively. These findings illustrated the potential mechanisms responsible for P release associated with different P activators and reinforced the case for their use in increasing legacy P availability for agriculture in calcareous soils.

Keywords: Calcareous soil; Phosphorus availability; Phosphorus fractions; Soil phosphorus activators.

MeSH terms

Agriculture
Fertilizers
Phosphorus*
Soil*
Triticum

Substances

Fertilizers
Soil
Phosphorus