Phosphorus is not one of the most common elements in Earth's crust and mantle, yet it is

essential for all life, plant and animal. Phosphorus makes up our bones and teeth, and
importantly, phosphorus composes DNA. Even though plants require more nitrogen and oxygen
than they do phosphorus, phosphorus is often the limiting nutrient; the amount of available
phosphorus determines the amount of plant growth and development. Where phosphorus is
plentiful, plants thrive, and vice versa. However, plants cannot absorb limitless amounts of
phosphorus. Phosphorus not used by plants remains in the soil or runs off in streams and
groundwater.

Reservoirs are colored according to the sphere they inhabit: tan marks the geosphere, blue
marks the hydrosphere and green marks the biosphere.
Soils contain a large pool of phosphorus, but most soil phosphorus is unavailable for uptake by
plants because it readily forms insoluble compounds with common elements like calcium and
iron.
Phosphorus in marine sediments is made available to the biosphere once again only by very
slow tectonic processes that bring buried sediments to the surface, where weathering releases
the phosphorus. Human mining of phosphate rocks for fertilizer has greatly increased the flux of
phosphate back into the biosphere.
Kutkhiny Baty, a pumice rock formation outcrop located 4 km from the source of the Ozernaya
River(Lake Kurile), near the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula Russia.
Phosphate mine near Flaming Gorge, Utah, USA
Phosphorus in rock is pretty insoluble and thus not directly available to plants. In nature,
rock phosphate can become soluble (and available to plants) either by chemical
weathering or through the actions of certain types of plants.

The solubility also depends on the type of rock containing the phosphorus and the pH of
the soil; phosphorus is most soluble when contained in sedimentary rocks as opposed to
igneous rock, and when soil pH is between 5.5 and 7.2. Therefore, just spreading
phosphate rock on fields has little effect on plant growth.

However, in the mid-1800s, chemists discovered that mixing sulfuric acid with phosphate
rock creates a soluble fine powder called superphosphate; this discovery turned
phosphate rock into the valuable fertilizer it is today.

A caveat, however, is that once fertilizer is applied to the soil, the phosphorus not
absorbed by plants can adhere to soil or clay particles and become an insoluble solid once
again.

Tricalcium phosphate
 The Origin of Phosphate Deposits

About 15% of phosphate reserves are found in volcanic (extrusive) igneous rocks. These reserves
are found in Russia, Finland, South Africa, and Brazil.
Most phosphate reserves are from sedimentary rocks. The phosphate-rich sedimentary rock
forms in the shallow oceans mainly due to bacterial activity, but only when several conditions
are met. Their formation is pretty rare! For example, phosphates form only in warm, tropical
oceans where there is a cold upwelling next to shore. T

here needs to be a source of phosphorus. Usually this is an abundance of dead organic matter.
(There is a reason that Florida's phosphate region is also called the Bone Beds.) Bacteria feed off
nutrients from the organic matter and the cold upwelling water and release the phosphorus
element from the organic matter. Other bacteria crystallize mud-sized crystals of that phosphate.
Finally, the right set of processes is needed to concentrate the phosphate into one layer.
Sea surface phosphate from the World Ocean Atlas
 Immobilization
Immobilization is the conversion of an element from an inorganic to organic form by
microorganisms. If a particular nutrient is limiting to microbial metabolism, nutrients
liberated by mineralization or nutrients available from other soil pools will be taken
up and retained by the microbial biomass rendering these nutrients unavailable for
plant uptake. Thus, under conditions of nutrient limitation, the microorganisms
compete with plants for nutrient made available from mineralization, chemical
weathering, and atmospheric deposition. Rates of immobilization are a function of
labile organic matter concentrations, litter quality (especially nutrient
concentrations), and availability of nutrients from other soil pools. The amount of
nutrient made available for plant uptake is termed net mineralization which is equal
to gross mineralization minus immobilization
 Mineralization
Mineralization refers specifically to those decomposition processes that release inorganic
compounds from organic matter. Factors affecting mineralization rates are similar to those
affecting decomposition, litter quality (e.g., concentrations of nutrients, lignin, and
polyphenols) and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, moisture, soil acidity and
nutrient availability). If a particular nutrient is limiting to microbial metabolism, nutrients
liberated by mineralization may be retained by the microbial biomass and are not available for
plant utilization. Thus, the amount of a nutrient released by mineralization that is available for
plant utilization is referred to as net mineralization:
 PHOSPHORUS SORPTION AND DESORPTION
P-sorption occurs when the orthophosphates, H2PO4- and HPO42-, bind tightly to soil particles.
Since phosphate is an anion, particles that generate an anion exchange capacity will form strong
bonds with phosphate.
Particles with anion exchange capacity:
• Aluminum and iron oxides
• Highly weathered kaolin clays (under acidic conditions)
• Amorphous materials.
These particles are commonly found in many of the most highly weathered soils and high
weathered volcanic soils of Hawaii. Since P-sorption results in a decrease of plant available
phosphorus, P-sorption can become a major issue in many Hawaii soils.
Additionally, in calcareous soils P-sorption may occur as phosphates sorb to impurities such as
aluminum and iron hydroxides or displace carbonates in calcium carbonate minerals.

Factors that affect P-sorption

Soil Mineral Type: Mineralogy of the soil has a great effect on P-sorption.
• Volcanic soils tend to have the greatest P-sorption of all soils since volcanic soils contain
large amounts of amorphous material.
• Following volcanic soils, highly weathered soils (such as Oxisols and Ultisols) have the next
greatest P-sorption capacities. This is due to the presence of large amounts of aluminum
and iron oxides and highly weathered kaolin clays.
• On the other end of the spectrum, less weathered soils and organic soils have low P-
sorption capacities.
Amount of clay: As the amount of clay increases in the soil, the P-sorption capacity increases as
well. This is because clay particles have a tremendous amount of surface area for which
phosphate sorption can take place.

pH: At low pH, soils have greater amounts of aluminum in the soil solution, which forms very
strong bonds with phosphate. In fact, a soil binds twice the amount of phosphorus under acidic
conditions, and these bonds are five times stronger.

Temperature: Generally, P-sorption increases as temperature increases.

Factors that decrease P-sorption:

Other anions, such as silicates, carbonates, sulfates, arsenate, and molybdate, compete with
phosphate for a position on the anion exchange site. As a result, these anions can cause the
displacement, or desorption, of phosphate from the soil exchange site. Desorption causes
phosphate availability in the soil solution to increase.

Organic matter increases P availability in four ways.

• First, organic matter forms complexes with organic phosphate which increases phosphate
uptake by plants.
• Second, organic anions can also displace sorbed phosphate.
• Third, humus coats aluminum and iron oxides, which reduces P sorption.
• Finally, organic matter is also a source of phosphorus through mineralization reactions.
Flooding the soil reduces P-sorption by increasing the solubility of phosphates that are bound to
aluminum and iron oxides and amorphous minerals.
 PHOSPHORUS UPTAKE BY PLANT ROOTS
Plant roots absorb phosphorus from the soil solution. In comparison to other macronutrients,
the phosphorus concentration in the soil solution is much lower and ranges from 0.001 mg/L
to 1 mg/L (Brady and Weil, 2002). In general, roots absorb phosphorus in the form of
orthophosphate, but can also absorb certain forms of organic phosphorus. Phosphorus moves
to the root surface through diffusion. However, the presence of mycorrhizal fungi, which
develop a symbiotic relationship with plant roots and extend threadlike hyphae into the soil,
can enhance the uptake of phosphorus, as well especially in acidic soils that are low in
phosphorus.