Phosphorus fractions in soil amended with organic and inorganic phosphorus sources

Information on the P fractions in soils treated with different organic amendments is needed to better manage land application of organic amendments to agricultural soils. This study investigated the forms and distribution of P after 1, 4 and 16 wk in a Lakeland silty clay loam soil using a sequential fractionation procedure. Phosphorus was added at rates of 0, 123, 307 and 614 mg P kg(-1) in the form of biosolids, hog manure, cattle manure and fertilizer P. The largest difference among the amendments was in the water-extractable P fraction, which was significantly lower in soil amended with biosolids. Regression analysis showed that the slope of P increment in the H 20 fraction as a function of P application rate was four times lower for biosolids (0.06) than for hog manure (0.24) and seven times lower than for fertilizer (0.42) amended soils. In the biosolids-amended soil, there was a net increase of H2O-P, NaOH-Pi and HCl-P fractions at the expense of organic P (NaOH-Po) and residual P fractions after 16 wk of incubation, signifying net P mineralization. In hog manure amended soil, H2O-P decreased by 128 mg kg-1 with a corresponding increase in the NaHCO3-P, possibly due to P sorption during the 16 wk of incubation. The results for cattle manure indicated net immobilization of P as the H2O-P and NaHCO3-P declined while the inorganic P (NaOH-Pi), HCl-P and residual P increased with incubation time. The transformation of P in fertilizer-amended soil was similar to that of hog manure amended soil. The amount of labile P (defined as H2O-P plus NaHCO3-P) in amended soils followed the order of fertilizer P > hog manure > cattle manure > biosolids.