The influence of soil properties and land use on the phosphate level in soils from Lubelskie region

Phosphorus is an important life-supporting nutrient and therefore it is often applied in fertilizers. As a result, its pool in soil may increase due to the presence of various elements effectively binding P, making it unavailable to plants. Each soil exhibits many characteristics important in P cycling, with the aeration state (redox potential and moisture), pH, and the presence of N, Ca, and Fe being the most important. In addition, agricultural practices, e.g. fertilization, may strongly affect P pools in the soil. We studied 7 different, both cultivated and natural, soil types from Lubelskie region. We found that agricultural practices strongly affected the soil aeration state, pH, and moisture level reducing them signifi cantly. As a result, phosphate concentrations increased signifi cantly up to 10 mg kg-1 in comparison to ca. 2– 4 mg kg-1 in non-cultivated soils. This was caused by changes in soil characteristics depending on the soil type (availability of N, Ca, and Fe). The levels of nitrates increased up to 50 mg kg-1, favouring P immobilization. It could be concluded that the soil aeration state (related to the manner of soil use) is important in P cycling through the effect on other soil characteristics, which differ among soil types.