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Phosphorus (P) sorption in soils is a key process governing its availability to crops. There has been scanty information available on the P sorption characteristics of calcare-ous soils of Western Azarbaijan Province, Iran. In this study, P sorption characteristics and their relationship to soil properties were determined in 36 soil samples belonging to 15 agricultural soil series located in the south of Urmia, Western Azarbaijan Province. Total CaCO3 contents ranged from 10 to 48.5%. Active CaCO3 contents ranged from 1.7 to 20% and were significantly related (r = 0.61, P<0.001) to the total CaCO3 of the soils. NaHCO3-extractable P contents ranged from 4 to 38 mg P/kg soil. The amount of P sorbed by the soils differed among various soil series. The results showed that equilibrium solution P concentration (EPC) was lower (<0.2 mg/L) than the requirement for most crops. The amount of P adsorbed by the soils at 0.2 mg/L EPC ranged from 5 to 114 mg/kg soil. The phosphate adsorption was well described by the Freundlich (r2 = 0.96) and Langmuir (r2 = 0.88) isotherms. The Langmuir maximum adsorption (Xm) and Freundlich coefficient (aF) estimated from Langmuir and Freundlich equations ranged from 127 to 238 mg P /kg soil and from 43 to 211 mg P/kg, respectively. Soil clay content was significantly related to the soil P sorption indices, P0.4 (P sorbed at 0.4 mg P/L, r = 0.40, P<0.01), PBC (P buffering capacity, r = 0.54, P<0.001), aF (r = 0.48, P<0.01), and Xm (r = 0.40, P<0.01). Total CaCO3 and active CaCO3 were found to be less important factors affecting P adsorption.

Keywords: Calcareous soils, Active CaCO3, Olsen P, Phosphorus sorption

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