A Critical Review on Soil Chemical Processes that Control How Soil pH Affects Phosphorus Availability to Plants

Chad J. Penn and James J. Camberato
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Chad J. Penn: USDA-ARS National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
James J. Camberato: Purdue University, Department of Agronomy, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 9, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: Occasionally, the classic understanding of the effect of pH on P uptake from soils is questioned through the claim that maximum P uptake occurs at a pH much lower than 6.5–7. The purpose of this paper was to thoroughly examine that claim and provide a critical review on soil processes that control how soil pH affects P solubility and availability. We discuss how individual P retention mechanisms are affected by pH in isolation and when combined in soils, and how both real and apparent exceptions to the classic view can occasionally occur due to dynamics between mechanisms, experimental techniques (equilibration time, method of soluble P extraction, and pH adjustment), and plant species that thrive under acidic conditions. While real exceptions to the rule of thumb of maximum P availability at near neutral pH can occur, we conclude that the classic textbook recommendation is generally sound.

Keywords: soil phosphorus solubility; plant available phosphorus; pH (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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