Phosphate sorption to matrix and fracture wall materials in a Glossaqualf

Phosphate retaining properties of macropore wall materials may influence the extent of phosphate leaching via preferential flow. Phosphate sorption to soil matrix material has been compared with sorption to fracture wall materials consisting of inner iron-oxide depleted albic coatings rimmed by reddish iron-oxide enriched quasicoatings. The latter contains 15 times as much Fe oxide, 2 times as much Al (hydr)oxide and 5–6 times as much total P than the albic material, which represent the most P-depleted material in the profile. Oxalate extractable P (P_o) amounts to of the total P contents of the samples. Smectite predominates in the fracture walls and acid subsoils, but has partly transformed into hydroxy-interlayered smectite (HIS) in the upper limed soil horizons. Langmuir parameters derived from phosphate sorption isotherms show no correlation for sorption to whole soil samples and the corresponding clay fractions. The phosphate sorption capacity at a threshold equilibrium concentration of 10 μM (P_ads^t (10 μM)) is measured as the content of P_o plus the amount of phosphate sorbed during 7 days, and can be related to Al_o+Fe_o: P_ads^t (10 μM)=(0.0404±0.0046)·(Al_o+Fe_o)***+3.569. The P_ads^t (10 μM) values vary between 4 and 14 mmol P kg⁻¹, lowest in the albic fracture walls and highest in the iron enriched quasi-coatings. The sorption capacity of the metal oxide free clay does not appear to correlate with smectite or HIS contents. In total, the clay fraction contributes with about 50% of the whole soil sorption capacity in agreement with 40–60% of the total soil Al_o+Fe_o being present in the clay fraction. At a solution phosphate concentration of 10 μM, the Ap horizon is found to be almost phosphate saturated whereas subsoil horizons including the fractures have phosphate saturations ≤50% and, hence, can strongly sorb P. The low phosphate saturation of fracture walls indicates that they do not act as major sinks of phosphate-rich solutions from topsoil horizons, either due to kinetic constraints, or due to a flow pattern not allowing P-rich solution to percolate fractures.