Geochemistry of phosphorus in sediment cores from Sishili Bay, China

This paper presents the distribution of total phosphorus (P), inorganic P (IP) and organic P in sediment cores from Sishili Bay, China. Their concentrations (μmolg^-1) ranged from 15.04 to 21.59, 12.43 to 18.27 and 0.15 to 5.11, respectively, showing 87.6-96.9% of TP is IP. The distribution of the fractionation of IP , obtained by a sequential extraction technique, was 1.9-3.2% for soluble and loosely bound P (Ex-P), 8.5-13.1% for Al-bound from (Al-P), 7.4-9.5% for Fe-bound P (Fe-P), 5.0-12.4% for reductant-soluble P (Oc-P), 9.7-15.6% for CaCO₃-bound P (ACa-P) and 45.9-54.6% for detritus P (Det-P). The P distribution and concentration was consistent with other Chinese coastal seas. No significant difference was found for the sedimentary P forms between scallop cultivation area and background area, indicating that shellfish aquaculture did not have significant effect on the depositional environment in the studied area, at least in case of P.