Phosphorus (P) availability critically limits the productivity of tropical forests growing on highly weathered, low-P soils. Although efforts to incorporate P into Earth system models (ESMs) provide an opportunity to better estimate tropical forest response to climate change, P sorption dynamics and controls on soil P availability are not well constrained. Here, we measured P and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) sorption isotherms on 23 soils from tropical Oxisol, Ultisol, Inceptisol, Andisol, and Aridisol soils using P concentrations from 10 to 500 mg P L-1, and DOC concentrations from 10 to 100 mg DOC L-1. Isotherms were fit to the Langmuir equation and parameters were related to soil characteristics. Maximum P sorption capacity (Qmax) was significantly correlated with clay content (rho = 0.658) and aluminium (Al)- or iron (Fe)-oxide concentrations (rho = 0.470 and 0.461 respectively), and the DOC Qmax was correlated with Fe oxides (rho = 0.491). Readily available soil characteristics could eventually be used to estimate Qmax values. Analysis of literature values demonstrated that the maximum initial P concentration added to soils had a significant impact on the resultant Qmax, suggesting that an insufficiently low initial P range could underestimate Qmax. This study improves methods for measuring P Qmax and estimating Qmax in the absence of isotherm analyses and provides key data for use in ESMs.
1.Oak Ridge Natl Lab, Div Environm Sci, POB 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA 2.Oak Ridge Natl Lab, Climate Change Sci Inst, POB 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA 3.Middle Tennessee State Univ, Dept Geosci, Davis Sci Bldg 241, Murfreesboro, TN 37132 USA
Recommended Citation:
Brenner, Julia,Porter, Wesley,Phillips, Jana R.,et al. Phosphorus sorption on tropical soils with relevance to Earth system model needs[J]. SOIL RESEARCH,2019-01-01,57(1):17-27