Where does all the phosphorus go? Mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the Swedish long-term soil fertility experiments

To gain insights into phosphorus (P) dynamics in soils and the ability to predict soil responses to varying fertilizer inputs, mass balance models prove to be valuable tools. In this study, a new dynamic mass balance model, PBalD8, was used to describe the change in extracted P in the A horizon of s...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jon Petter Gustafsson, Florian Barbi, Sabina Braun, Wantana Klysubun, Gunnar Börjesson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-12-01
Series:Geoderma
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706123004044
_version_ 1827591281776263168
author Jon Petter Gustafsson
Florian Barbi
Sabina Braun
Wantana Klysubun
Gunnar Börjesson
author_facet Jon Petter Gustafsson
Florian Barbi
Sabina Braun
Wantana Klysubun
Gunnar Börjesson
author_sort Jon Petter Gustafsson
collection DOAJ
description To gain insights into phosphorus (P) dynamics in soils and the ability to predict soil responses to varying fertilizer inputs, mass balance models prove to be valuable tools. In this study, a new dynamic mass balance model, PBalD8, was used to describe the change in extracted P in the A horizon of soils subjected to diverse fertilizer treatments over a period of 50 to 60 years in five soil fertility experiments. The model employed a Freundlich equation to describe soil-solution partitioning of P and assumed that acid-lactate-extractable P represented a labile pool of P in instant equilibrium with soil solution P. Additionally, oxalate-extractable inorganic P was presumed to comprise the sum of the labile and stable pools of P, with mass flux to and from the latter described by Fick’s first law. The model was evaluated using results from extractions and P K-edge XANES spectroscopy. Notably, organic P, as revealed by P K-edge XANES, did not substantially contribute to long-term changes in soil P content and was therefore excluded from consideration. In general, the model offered reasonable fits to the extracted P concentrations. However, for the P-depleted treatments, a prerequisite was that the P removal through harvest was lower compared to measurements. Conversely, in three of the soils, the modelled fertilizer inputs needed to be reduced to 70 % to 85 % of the known additions. These discrepancies may be attributed to the involvement of deeper soil horizons, including deep crop uptake and mixing with lower soil layers, although other factors such as lateral dispersion and inaccuracies in estimating applied fertilizers cannot be discounted. These results underscore the necessity of gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how deeper soil horizons influence P mass balances in agricultural soils. In one of the soils, Fjärdingslöv, P K-edge XANES results demonstrated the formation of calcium phosphate over time in the highest fertilization treatment, consistent with the model. Additionally, in two soils, Kungsängen and the P-depleted Vreta Kloster soil, the model predicted a significant contribution from mineral weathering. However, the PBalD8 model also projected higher P leaching rates than those observed, suggesting that the model may not fully capture this P output term.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T01:29:35Z
format Article
id doaj.art-a433ade4f9034ac29df606e3adbc5815
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1872-6259
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T01:29:35Z
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Geoderma
spelling doaj.art-a433ade4f9034ac29df606e3adbc58152023-12-10T06:13:41ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592023-12-01440116727Where does all the phosphorus go? Mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the Swedish long-term soil fertility experimentsJon Petter Gustafsson0Florian Barbi1Sabina Braun2Wantana Klysubun3Gunnar Börjesson4Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden; Corresponding author.Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden; Current Address: Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, 14220 Praha 4, Czech RepublicDepartment of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, SwedenSynchrotron Light Research Institute, 111 Moo 6 University Avenue, Muang District, 30000 Nakhon Ratchasima, ThailandDepartment of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, SwedenTo gain insights into phosphorus (P) dynamics in soils and the ability to predict soil responses to varying fertilizer inputs, mass balance models prove to be valuable tools. In this study, a new dynamic mass balance model, PBalD8, was used to describe the change in extracted P in the A horizon of soils subjected to diverse fertilizer treatments over a period of 50 to 60 years in five soil fertility experiments. The model employed a Freundlich equation to describe soil-solution partitioning of P and assumed that acid-lactate-extractable P represented a labile pool of P in instant equilibrium with soil solution P. Additionally, oxalate-extractable inorganic P was presumed to comprise the sum of the labile and stable pools of P, with mass flux to and from the latter described by Fick’s first law. The model was evaluated using results from extractions and P K-edge XANES spectroscopy. Notably, organic P, as revealed by P K-edge XANES, did not substantially contribute to long-term changes in soil P content and was therefore excluded from consideration. In general, the model offered reasonable fits to the extracted P concentrations. However, for the P-depleted treatments, a prerequisite was that the P removal through harvest was lower compared to measurements. Conversely, in three of the soils, the modelled fertilizer inputs needed to be reduced to 70 % to 85 % of the known additions. These discrepancies may be attributed to the involvement of deeper soil horizons, including deep crop uptake and mixing with lower soil layers, although other factors such as lateral dispersion and inaccuracies in estimating applied fertilizers cannot be discounted. These results underscore the necessity of gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how deeper soil horizons influence P mass balances in agricultural soils. In one of the soils, Fjärdingslöv, P K-edge XANES results demonstrated the formation of calcium phosphate over time in the highest fertilization treatment, consistent with the model. Additionally, in two soils, Kungsängen and the P-depleted Vreta Kloster soil, the model predicted a significant contribution from mineral weathering. However, the PBalD8 model also projected higher P leaching rates than those observed, suggesting that the model may not fully capture this P output term.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706123004044Mass balance modelSpeciationXANESDiffusionAdsorptionLeaching
spellingShingle Jon Petter Gustafsson
Florian Barbi
Sabina Braun
Wantana Klysubun
Gunnar Börjesson
Where does all the phosphorus go? Mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the Swedish long-term soil fertility experiments
Geoderma
Mass balance model
Speciation
XANES
Diffusion
Adsorption
Leaching
title Where does all the phosphorus go? Mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the Swedish long-term soil fertility experiments
title_full Where does all the phosphorus go? Mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the Swedish long-term soil fertility experiments
title_fullStr Where does all the phosphorus go? Mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the Swedish long-term soil fertility experiments
title_full_unstemmed Where does all the phosphorus go? Mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the Swedish long-term soil fertility experiments
title_short Where does all the phosphorus go? Mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the Swedish long-term soil fertility experiments
title_sort where does all the phosphorus go mass balance modelling of phosphorus in the swedish long term soil fertility experiments
topic Mass balance model
Speciation
XANES
Diffusion
Adsorption
Leaching
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706123004044
work_keys_str_mv AT jonpettergustafsson wheredoesallthephosphorusgomassbalancemodellingofphosphorusintheswedishlongtermsoilfertilityexperiments
AT florianbarbi wheredoesallthephosphorusgomassbalancemodellingofphosphorusintheswedishlongtermsoilfertilityexperiments
AT sabinabraun wheredoesallthephosphorusgomassbalancemodellingofphosphorusintheswedishlongtermsoilfertilityexperiments
AT wantanaklysubun wheredoesallthephosphorusgomassbalancemodellingofphosphorusintheswedishlongtermsoilfertilityexperiments
AT gunnarborjesson wheredoesallthephosphorusgomassbalancemodellingofphosphorusintheswedishlongtermsoilfertilityexperiments