Sorption of isotopically exchangeable and non-exchangeable phosphate by some soils of Colombia and Brazil, and comparisons with soils of southern Nigeria

Fourteen soils from Colombia and Brazil provided a wide range of sorption characteristics. Curves of sorbed phosphate that was exchangeable to ³²P were described by Freundlich's equation, and of non-exchangeable phosphate by Temkin's equation. Exchangeable phosphate was associated with aluminium in poorly-crystalline oxides and in organic complexes. Non-exchangeable phosphate was related to aluminium in organic complexes, and especially to the ratio of AI/C in them. In Nigerian soils similar mechanisms controlled sorption of phosphate but oxides and organic complexes of iron were important. The concentration of phosphate in solution when affinities of soil for exchangeable and non-exchangeable phosphate are equal, and the importance of organic matter, are discussed in relation to soil management and to responses of crops to fertilizer phosphate. The results indicate that sorption curves should not be split into sections.