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Changes in organic phosphorus composition in boreal forest humus soils: the role of iron and aluminium

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Abstract

Organic phosphorus (P) is an important component of boreal forest humus soils, and its concentration has been found to be closely related to the concentration of iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al). We used solution and solid state 31P NMR spectroscopy on humus soils to characterize organic P along two groundwater recharge and discharge gradients in Fennoscandian boreal forest, which are also P sorption gradients due to differences in aluminium (Al) and iron (Fe) concentration in the humus. The composition of organic P changed sharply along the gradients. Phosphate diesters and their degradation products, as well as polyphosphates, were proportionally more abundant in low Al and Fe sites, whereas phosphate monoesters such as myo-, scyllo- and unknown inositol phosphates dominated in high Al and Fe soils. The concentration of inositol phosphates, but not that of diesters, was positively related to Al and Fe concentration in the humus soil. Overall, in high Al and Fe sites the composition of organic P seemed to be closely associated with stabilization processes, whereas in low Al and Fe sites it more closely reflected inputs of organic P, given the dominance of diesters which are generally assumed to constitute the bulk of organic P inputs to the soil. These gradients encompass the broad variation in soil properties detected in the wider Fennoscandian boreal forest landscape, as such our findings provide insight into the factors controlling P biogeochemistry in the region but should be of relevance to boreal forests elsewhere.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Tobias Sparrman for assistance with the deconvolution procedure, as well as to Maja K Sundqvist and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on this manuscript. Funding was provided by the Kempe Foundation (AGV), the Swedish Research Council VR (JS, GG, RG, PP, MJ), the Swedish Research Council FORMAS (JS) and the Centre for Environmental Research in Umeå (CMF) (JV).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Andrea G. Vincent & Mats Jansson

  2. Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Jürgen Schleucher

  3. Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Gerhard Gröbner, Johan Vestergren & Per Persson

  4. Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, 981 07, Abisko, Sweden

    Reiner Giesler

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  1. Andrea G. Vincent
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Correspondence to Andrea G. Vincent.

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Vincent, A.G., Schleucher, J., Gröbner, G. et al. Changes in organic phosphorus composition in boreal forest humus soils: the role of iron and aluminium. Biogeochemistry 108, 485–499 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9612-0

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