Phosphate retention in the organic horizon of a stagnopodzol soil

In a recent study of the impact of clear felling on element cycling in
sitka spruce plantations* a large flux of phosphate from the felling brash
into the soil was observed following felling. The phosphate was, however,
efficiently retained in the 0 and E horizons of the ferric stagnopodzol
soil (Avery 1980)13, with very little reaching the Bs horizon. The
retention of the phosphate in the upper soil could have been due to incorporation
into the microbial biomass or to physicc-chemical adsorption onto
soil surfaces, or to a combination of both mechanisms. This paper reports
the results of a preliminary study designed to assess the relative
importance of the two mechanisms in the retention of phosphate in the 0
horizon.