Soil Phosphorus Distribution across Diverse Land Use Systems: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is a crucial nutrient necessary for healthy plant growth. While soils typically contain a sufficient total amount of P (200-300 mg P kg–1), less than 1% of it is readily available to plants. In India, despite an adequate total P content, approximately 42% of soils are deficient in plant-available P2O5 and 38% have medium availability. The dynamics of phosphorus in soil are influenced by various processes, including dissolution-precipitation, sorption-desorption, and mineralization-immobilization reactions. These dynamics are highly responsive to agricultural practices and land-use patterns, which play a significant role in shaping the P distribution of P in the soil. One major factor that affects the distribution and availability of phosphorus in the soil is a change in land use. When natural ecosystems are transformed into plantations or croplands, it substantially alters the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. This transformation impacts soil fertility and can lead to significant changes in the distribution of P within different chemically defined pools. Consequently, this affects the availability and stability of P in the soil. Soil P fractionation, a method used to assess P availability, solubility and dynamics, is a suitable tool to understand how P behaves under different land-use systems. However, the specific effects of land-use changes on P fractions are not well-documented. To gain a better understanding of how land-use changes impact the distribution and availability of different P fractions in the soil, research studies have been conducted.