The estimation of bioavailable phosphorus in particulate forms by ultrasonic treatment

Abstract

AbstractThe concentration of bioavailable phosphorus (BAP), which is readily available to algae, has been reported to be important to the severity of eutrophication. Because time‐consuming conventional methods have constrained sample processing, a rapid method of estimating BAP is required. We investigated an extraction method using 0.1 M NaOH in combination with ultrasonic treatment to estimate BAP in agricultural soils and suspended sediments. The extraction process was less time‐consuming than conventional methods. The relevance of the extraction methodology to the growth of P‐starved Microcystis aeruginosa was confirmed by observing the growth of this alga in cultures amended with extracted samples of soil or sediment as the sole P source. Cell growth in media containing samples extracted with ultrasonic treatment was similar to growth in media containing samples extracted with conventional methods. The results suggest that ultrasonic extraction is a promising method for rapidly obtaining BAP from agricultural soils and suspended sediments.