Soil phosphorus cycling is modified by carbon and nitrogen fertilization in a long‐term field experiment

Abstract

Background and aims: Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for crop growth. However, while links of P turnover in soils to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) availability have been described, it remains to be clarified how combinations of fertilizer C and N additions affect stocks and cycling of distinct P fractions at different soil depths. The objectives of our study were (1) to assess how soil total P stocks are affected by organic amendments and N fertilization, (2) to evaluate how different soil P fractions respond to N fertilization, and (3) to verify whether N fertilization increases soil biological P cycling. Methods: We collected soil samples from a long‐term field experiment established in 1984 in Rauischholzhausen, Germany. The soil is a Haplic Luvisol and received either no organic fertilizer (NOF), farmyard manure (FYM) or a combination of organic and mineral N fertilizer (OMF). Each treatment additionally received three levels of mineral N: 0 kg ha−1 y−1 (N0), 100 kg ha−1 y−1 (N100), and 200 kg ha−1 y−1 (N200). The organic fertilizers were applied by a manure spreader and the N fertilizer (calcium ammonium nitrate) was applied in spring as top dressing by a plot fertilizer machine. We estimated stocks of P in fractions isolated by sequential P fractionation, and assessed the oxygen isotopic composition of 1 M HCl‐extractable phosphate (δ18OP). Results: We found that increased organic matter (OM) addition and mineral N inputs caused significant decreases in the stocks of resin‐ and NaHCO3‐extractable P in the topsoil (0–30 cm). Mineral N fertilization alone resulted in significant increases in stocks of resin‐, NaHCO3‐, and NaOH‐extractable P in the upper subsoil (30–50 cm). These changes occurred for both inorganic and organic P. The subsoil δ18OP values were closer to expected equilibrium values in soil fertilized with mineral N, indicative of more intensive biological P cycling than in the treatments without mineral N inputs. Conclusions: These findings suggest that long‐term OM and mineral N fertilization promotes topsoil P losses from labile fractions by crop uptake with an enrichment of these P forms in the subsoil, and an overall increase in biological P cycling in both top‐ and subsoil horizons upon N fertilization.

Influence of 96 years of mineral and organic fertilization on selected soil properties: a case study from long-term field experiments in Skierniewice, central Poland

“…It is commonly known that long-term use of manure increases the content of various components in the soil (e.g. soil organic carbon (SOC), TN, as well as macronutrients and micronutrients) (Wang et al, 2009;Li et al, 2010;Kołodziejczyk et al, 2017;Murawska et al, 2017). Besides, the application of completely NPK mineral fertilizers for a long time also increases the SOM (Mercik et al, 2005).…”

Impact of Fertilizer on Crop Yield and C:N:P Stoichiometry in Arid and Semi-Arid Soil

“…In agricultural production practices, fertilizers (organic and inorganic) are used to increase the accumulation of C, N, and P in the soil to improve the soil's ability to supply nutrients to crops [4]. Fertilizers have considerably contributed to increase in food production and food security [5][6][7]. However, there are problems with high frequency of fertilizer application and low utilization efficiency [8,9].…”

Fog controls biological cycling of soil phosphorus in the Coastal Cordillera of the Atacama Desert

“…Soil temperature was collected from surface to −10 cm for nearly 4 years (2018–2022). Though these stations records were not prolonged to 20 years or more as in other studies (Bauke et al., 2022; Wang, Moradi, et al., 2021), they still provide robust climatic data for the estimation of equilibrium oxygen isotope fractionations in phosphate (Wang, Bauke, et al., 2021). The average soil surface temperature (0–10 cm) monitored by the weather stations was 21 ± 0.4°C.…”