Soil and sediment phosphorus fractions in a forested watershed at Acadia National Park, ME, USA

Phosphorus (P) is often the critical limiting nutrient controlling the productivity of natural waters. Understanding the linkages between terrestrial and aquatic P dynamics is essential to defining the mechanisms governing P availability in the ecosystem. We used P fractionation techniques to investigate landscape patterns of P distribution in soils, and associated stream and lake sediments, in a forested watershed at Acadia National Park, ME, USA. Specifically, we investigated the chemical and spatial distribution of P in primary and secondary mineral phases along a topographic and bathymetric transect based on distance from the stream for soils and lake sediments. The dominant P fraction was associated with aluminum (Al) hydroxides, a fraction that also included some iron (Fe) hydroxides and organic P. The Al–P fraction accounted for 62% and 66% of total P in all soil and lake samples, respectively. These results suggest that secondary Al, and to a lesser extent Fe, dominate P dynamics in these soils and lakes. Stream sediments appear to originate from deeper, less weathered portions of the soil with lower accumulations of secondary Al and Fe. As a result, stream sediments have little capacity for adsorbing P, relative to soil or lake sediments. Phosphorus fractionation results also suggested that both exposed and occluded primary apatite-P still persists in these soils, stream sediments, and lake sediments. Extractable apatite-P concentrations increased progressively with decreasing distance from the stream in the watershed and with increasing distance from the stream and depth in the lake. These trends were attributed to spatial patterns in the intensity of pedogenesis in the watershed and the influence of winnowing and sedimentation on lake sediment composition.