Interconnection between pedogenesis and phosphorus cycle in temperate soils

Purpose To test the interconnections between pedogenetic drivers featured by climate, parent material, weathering intensity, soil properties, and their influence on inorganic and organic P compounds ( 31 P NMR) in temperate ecosystems, and validation of the theoretical concept of P pools. Methods Data from the literature on the chronosequences of temperate soils under native vegetation were used to build a structural model. Results The structural model was satisfactorily fitted and pointed out that the soil property pool, which is featured by measurable variables such as total P, clay, and organic carbon, had a direct and positive relationship with the inorganic P ( β = 0.85) (P i —composed of pyrophosphate, orthophosphate, and polyphosphate variables) and organic P ( β = 0.95) (P o —composed of variables DNA, IHPs, and phosphonates) pools, regulating soil P availability. The climate pool, featured by measurable temperature and precipitation variables, had indirect and negative relationships (via soil properties pool) with P i and P o compounds; this suggests a reduction in soil P availability over time in temperate humid environments. The weathering and parent material pools had positive indirect relationships (via soil properties pool) with the P o and P i pools. The model explained 97% and 91% variances ( R 2 ) in the P i and P o pools, respectively. Conclusions Our study shows that the P i and P o compounds are closely dependent on soil development processes featured by climate, parent material, weathering, and soil properties in temperate ecosystems. There was low direct dependence of the P i pool on the P o pool.