Effect of moisture and temperature regimes on available phosphorus in wetland rice soils

Abstract

A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of water and temperature regimes on availability of soil phosphorus (P). Four soil samples with variable levels of available P collected from a long‐term P frequency trial were incubated under two moisture regimes, continuous waterlogging (CWL) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) at 20°C and 30°C temperature for 90 days. The samples were extracted with 0.5M NaHCO₃ for available P determination after incubation. Increase in temperature increased available P content and this increase was more prominent in CWL conditions. Available P in all the soils tested was higher under CWL than AWD conditions, however, the increase in available P due to CWL environment was more pronounced in soils with higher available P.