Phosphorus and carbon status of a paddy soil under different fertilization regimes

Purpose Phosphorus (P) in soil particulate fraction (PF; >53 μm) is suggested to have a significant importance in soil P cycling. However, the effects of continuous fertilization on P-PF and its association with soil organic carbon (SOC) in paddy soils have not been well studied. Materials and methods We sampled paddy soils at 0–20 cm from a long-term field experiment (initiated in 1981) conducted under humid subtropical conditions in China, which has five fertilization treatments with equivalent P input (135 kg P 2 O 5 ha −1 year −1 ) except the control treatment (CK). Changes in total P (Pt), inorganic P (Pi), organic P (Po), and SOC under different fertilization managements were evaluated in the whole soil, in the PF, and in the mineral-associated fraction (MAF;