Inorganic Phosphorus Fractionation of Highly Calcareous Soils of Iran

Highly calcareous soils are abundant in Iran. The calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of these soils reach up to 650 g kg−1. Although phosphorus (P) fertilizer is being widely used in these soils, little information, if any, is available about P status in such soils. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine inorganic P forms in 18 surface soils of southern Iran, 2) study P readsorption during different stages of fractionation schemes, 3) assess the ability of NaOH to extract aluminum (Al)‐P, and 4) evaluate the relationships between P availability indices and inorganic P forms. Eighteen soil samples with a wide range of physicochemical properties were selected for this study. Inorganic P forms was determined by sequential extraction with NaHCO3, NH4OAc, NH4F, NaOH, citrate dithionite (CD), and H2SO4, which are referred to as Ca2‐P, Ca8‐P, Al‐P, Fe‐P, occluded P (O‐P), and Ca10‐P. Phosphorus readsorption in different stages was determined by 1 M MgCl2. Furthermore, a fractionation scheme without an NH4F step was used to evaluate the ability of NaOH to extract Al‐P. NaHCO3 (Olsen‐P) and MgCl2‐extractable P (Exch‐P) were regarded as P-availability indices. The abundance of different P forms was in the order Ca2‐P<Fe‐P<Al‐P<O‐P