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The impact of changing moisture conditions on short-term P availability in weathered soils

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Abstract

Background and Aims

Bioavailable phosphorus (P) represents a primary constraint on productivity in many ecosystems on highly-weathered soils. Soil moisture can be important to determining P bioavailability and net primary productivity in these systems. However, hydrologic controls on P availability remain poorly understood.

Methods

We used “resins” (anion-exchange membranes) to quantify the response of labile P, an estimate of bioavailable P, to soil moisture conditions in two highly-weathered soils (rendzina, ultisol). The resins were either incubated in soil or shaken with a soil-water slurry.

Results

Resin incubations in aerobic soil effectively quantified labile P in soils under changing moisture conditions, extracting significant amounts of labile P while avoiding the disturbance imposed by slurries. Wetting field-moist soils resulted in pulsed labile P, with lagged peaks occurring days after the largest moisture additions. Re-wetting air-dried soils enhanced labile P immediately, with the largest amounts observed at the highest moisture levels; labile P steadily declined following the moisture addition.

Conclusions

Soil moisture levels and history strongly impacted labile P, indicating the importance of both variables when interpreting labile P measurements. These results also suggest that P availability is linked to both the amount and timing of rainfall, with implications for plant productivity in regions exposed to changing moisture regimes.

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Abbreviations

P:

Phosphorus

DIW:

deionized water

SYPR:

southern Yucatan Peninsula region

ECOSUR:

El Colegio de la Frontera Sur

RANOVA:

Repeated measures analysis of variance

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (grant # EAR0838218). We would also like to thank Hans Vester and ECOSUR students and colleagues for providing field equipment and laboratory space. We also gratefully acknowledge support from the EFLUM Lab in the Faculté de l’environement naturel, architectural et construit, École Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. Finally, we would like to thank Alexia Kelley and the anonymous reviewers who provided comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, PO Box 400123, Charlottesville, VA, 22904-4123, USA

    Marcia DeLonge, Karen L. Vandecar, Paolo D’Odorico & Deborah Lawrence

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkley, CA, 94720, USA

    Marcia DeLonge

Authors
  1. Marcia DeLonge
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  2. Karen L. Vandecar
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  3. Paolo D’Odorico
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  4. Deborah Lawrence
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Correspondence to Marcia DeLonge.

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Responsible Editor: Stefano Manzoni.

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DeLonge, M., Vandecar, K.L., D’Odorico, P. et al. The impact of changing moisture conditions on short-term P availability in weathered soils. Plant Soil 365, 201–209 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1373-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1373-6

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