Relation between various soil phosphorus extraction methods and sorption parameters in calcareous soils with different texture

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of soil texture on phosphorus (P) extractability and sorption from a wide range of calcareous soils across Hamedan, western Iran. Fifty seven soil samples were selected and partitioned into five types on the basis of soil texture (clay, sandy, sandy clay loam, sandy loam and mixed loam) and the P extracted with calcium chloride (PCaCl2), citrate (Pcitrate), HCl (PHCl), Olsen (POls), and Mehlich-3 (PM3) solutions. On the average, the P extracted was in the order PHCl>PM3>Pcitrate>POls>PCaCl2. The P extracted by Pcitrate, PHCl, POls, and PM3 methods were significantly higher in sandy, sandy clay loam and sandy loam textures than clay and mixed loam textures, while soil phosphorus buffer capacity (PBC) was significantly higher in clay and mixed loam soil textures. The correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between silt content Freundlich sorption coefficient (KF), maximum P sorption (Qmax), linear distribution coefficient (Kd), and PBC. All extractions were highly correlated with each other and among soil components with silt content. The principal component analysis (PCA) performed on data identified five principal components describing 74.5% of total variation. The results point to soil texture as an important factor and that silt was the crucial soil property associated with P sorption and its extractability in these calcareous soils. DPSM3-2 (PM3PM3+Qmax×100) and DPScitrate (PcitratePcitrate+Qmax×100) proved to be good indicators of soil's potential P release in these calcareous soils. Among the DPS, 21% of soils reported DPSM3-2, values higher than the environmental threshold, indicating build-up of P and P release. Most of the studied sandy clay loam soils had exceeded the environmentally unacceptable P concentration. Various management practices should be taken into account to reduce P losses from these soils. Further inorganic and organic P fertilizer inputs should be reduced in some parts of studied area.