Phosphorus and Carbon Fraction Concentrations in a Cambisol Soil as Affected by Tillage

Abstract

: Changes of soil phosphorus parameters (SPP) and soil organic matter (SOM) fractions were investigated in a Cambisol of medium‐heavy texture. Soil sequential samples were taken from a minimum (MT) and conventional (CT) tillage field in Sitzenhof (Germany). For the CT soil, concentrations of available forms phosphorus (P) were stable to ∼0.3‐m depth, below which they rapidly decreased to relatively low values. In contrast, the decrease in the MT soil profile was gradual from the surface layer; available forms of P concentrations were higher and sorption index values were lower than in the CT soil in corresponding depths. Concentrations of SOM fractions were higher in the MT than CT treatment soil along the whole soil profile, especially below the 0.3‐m depth. The correlations between SPP and SOM fraction concentrations were closer in the MT than in the CT, particularly below 0.3‐m depths.