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Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Measuring Phosphorus Release in Laboratory Microcosms for Water Quality Assessment
Published on: July 22, 2019
[Responses of soil phosphorus fractions and microorganisms to nitrogen application in a subtropical Phyllostachys
Quan-Xin Zeng1,2, Xiao-Min Zeng1,2, Kai-Miao Lin2,3
1School of Geographical Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China.
Abstract:
Phosphorus (P) is an important nutrient for plant and microbial growth. Soil P availabi-lity is poor in subtropical areas. Long-term heavy nitrogen (N) deposition might further reduce P availability. The experiment was performed in a Phyllostachys pubescens forest in Daiyun Mountain. The effects of N application on soil basic physical and chemical properties, soil P fractions, microbial biomass, and acid phosphomonoesterase activity were analyzed after three years of N application. The results showed that N application significantly increased NO3--N content and thus soil N availability, while it significantly reduced the percentage of decomposable organic P to total P, with the ratio of carbon (C) to organic P being over 200. The soil microbial biomass C, microbial biomass P, acid phosphomonoesterase, and the ratio of microbial biomass N to microbial biomass P and microbial biomass C to microbial biomass P were increased as the N application rate increased. There was a significant negative correlation between the percentage of decomposable organic P to total P and microbial biomass P. Consequently, N application enhanced soil P limitation and increased microbial P demand.
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