Phosphorus dynamics across a 450 ka vertical chronosequence of loess derived (paleo)soils in central US

Pedogenesis entails profound changes in terrestrial phosphorus (P) dynamics, yet means to understand how time- and climate-induced soil weathering impacts P-cycling over geologic timescales remain relatively limited to space-for-time substitution approaches with multi-site chronosequences. We tested an alternative approach for evaluating terrestrial P dynamics described by the Walker-Syers model by measuring P pools in a ~ 450 ka loess-paleosol sequence. This vertical chronosequence reflects episodic proglacial loess deposition during multiple glaciations and interglacial soil development in central North America in a four-stage loess-paleosol sequence that initiated with the pre-Illinois Episode glaciation. Changes in P pools estimated by sequential fractionation aligned with the Walker-Syers P model for interglacial periods but not glacial periods, possibly reflecting limited soil weathering in cooler and drier conditions of the latter. Total P decreased from 797 to 328 mg/kg with depth and was higher in paleosols than underlying loess parent materials. During glacial periods, primary P increased due to loess deposition and decreased during interglacial periods concomitantly with increased non-occluded and occluded secondary P pools, the extent of which reflected differences in weathering environments of paleoclimatic conditions and loess accumulation rates. That P fractions reflected the Walker-Syers model demonstrates that single-site vertical chronosequences have potential for evaluating long-term soil P dynamics.