Phosphorus (P) binding groups were identified in phytoplankton, settling particles, and sediment profiles by 31 P NMR spectroscopy from the Swedish mesotrophic Lake Erken. The 31 P NMR analysis revealed that polyphosphates and pyrophosphates were abundant in the water column, but rapidly mineralized in the sediment. Orthophosphate monoesters and teichoic acids degraded more slowly than DNA-P, polyphosphates, and P lipids. Humic acids and organic acids from phytoplankton were precipitated from the NaOH extract by acidification and identified by 31 P NMR spectroscopy. The precipitated P was significantly more recalcitrant than the P compound groups remaining in solution, but does not constitute a major sink of P as it did not reach a stable concentration with depth, which indicates that it may eventually be degraded. Since P also precipitated from phytoplankton, the origin of humic-P can not be related solely to allochthonous P.