Fractionation and bioavailability of phosphorus in a tropical estuary, Southwest India

Phosphorus fractionation was employed to find the bioavailability of phosphorus and its seasonal variations in the Panangad region of Cochin estuary, the largest estuarine system in the southwest coast of India. Sequential extraction of the surficial sediments using chelating agents was taken as a tool for this. Phosphate in the water column showed seasonal variations, with high values during the monsoon months, suggesting external runoff. Sediment texture was found to be the main factor influencing the spatial distribution of the geochemical parameters in the study region. Similarly, total phosphorus also showed granulometric dependence and it ranged between 319.54 and 2,938.83 μg/g. Calcium-bound fraction was the main phosphorus pool in the estuary. Significant spatial variations were observed for all bioavailable fractions; iron-bound inorganic phosphorus (5.04-474.24 μg/g), calcium-bound inorganic phosphorus (11.16-826.09 μg/g), and acid-soluble organic phosphorus (22.22-365.86 μg/g). Among the non-bioavailable phosphorus, alkali-soluble organic fraction was the major one (51.92-1,002.45 μg/g). Residual organic phosphorus was comparatively smaller fraction (3.25-14.64% of total). The sandy and muddy stations showed distinct fractional composition and the speciation study could endorse the overall geochemical character. There could be buffering of phosphorus, suggested by the increase in the percentage of bioavailable fractions during the lean pre-monsoon period, counteracting the decreases in the external loads. Principal component analysis was employed to find the possible processes influencing the speciation of phosphorus in the study region.