Quantifying Phosphorus Leaching Loss from Mollisol with Organic Amendments

Abstract

The phosphorus (P) leaching from continuous fertilization is generally neglected in mollisol. The in situ leaching loss of phosphorus (P), especially dissolved organic P, is poorly quantified under organic amendments given its potential environmental risks. In this study, we conducted an in situ soil column experiment, instead of the traditional measuring of the soil layer, in the mollisol area of northeast China to investigate the seasonal variations in different P forms under three typical fertilization practices, including chemical fertilizer (CF), CF supplemented with straw (CFS), and CF co-applied with straw and manure (CFSM). Compared with the CF treatment, CFS treatment generally reduced the leaching loss of dissolved organic P by 57.3% to reduce the total P loss, while the CFSM treatment increased the leaching loss of dissolved inorganic P by 20.9% to increase the total P loss. Other than the effects of management practices, precipitation and temperature-oriented environmental factors significantly affected the seasonal variation in leaching loss of both the dissolved and particulate P forms. We conclude that straw incorporation into the mollisol of northeast China is recommended, considering its low leaching risk of P, while a co-amendment of straw and manure resulted in the opposite. Despite the slight environmental risk of P leaching loss (0.75–1.95% of external P input per year) practically quantified by in situ experiments, a proper reduction in chemical P input with organic amendments may be an effective P fertilizer management strategy in mollisol areas.