Combining diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) and spectroscopic techniques for the determination of phosphorus species in soils

A wide range of methods are used to estimate the plant-availability of soil phosphorus (P). Published research has shown that the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique has a superior correlation to plant-available P in soils compared to standard chemical extraction tests. In order to identify the plant-available soil P species, we combined DGT with infrared and P K- and L2,3-edge X-ray adsorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. This was achieved by spectroscopically investigating the dried binding layer of DGT devices after soil deployment. All three spectroscopic methods were able to distinguish between different kinds of phosphates (poly-, trimeta-, pyro- and orthophosphate) on the DGT binding layer. However, infrared spectroscopy was most sensitive to distinguish between different types of adsorbed inorganic and organic phosphates. Furthermore, intermediates of the time-resolved hydrolysis of trimetaphosphate in soil could be analyzed. [Display omitted] •Combination of DGT and spectroscopic techniques determines plant-available phosphorus species in soils.•Intermediates of time-resolved soil phosphorus reactions can be analyzed.•Spectroscopic mapping techniques can detect phosphorus species of a spatial soil segment.