Skip to main content
Dryad

Data from: Phosphorus release from unamended and gypsum-or biochar-amended soils under simulated spring snowmelt and summer flooding conditions

Data files

Nov 01, 2020 version files 44.82 KB

Abstract

Prolonged flooding changes the oxidation–reduction status of soils, often enhancing phosphorus (P) release to overlying floodwater. We studied P release from unamended, gypsum-amended and biochar- amended soils under simulated snowmelt flooding (previously frozen, cold flooding at +4°C) and summer flooding (unfrozen, warm flooding at +22°C), using two soils, Fyala clay (FYL-Cl) and Neuenberg sandy loam (NBG-SL) from Manitoba, Canada. Amended and unamended soils were packed into vessels and flooded under cold and warm temperatures in the laboratory. Pore water and floodwater samples were taken weekly for 6 weeks after flooding (WAF) and thereafter biweekly for 10 WAF, and analyzed for dissolved reactive P (DRP), pH and cation concentrations. NBG-SL showed a significantly higher DRP concentration in pore water and floodwater despite its low Olsen P content. Redox potential (Eh) decreased slowly under cold compared to warm flooding; hence redox-induced P release was substantially lower under cold flooding. Gypsum amendment significantly decreased the floodwater DRP concentrations in NBG-SL by 38% and 35% under cold and warm flooding, respectively, but had no significant effect in FYL-Cl, which had low DRP concentrations (<1.2 mg L-1) throughout flooding period. Biochar amendment significantly increased floodwater DRP concentrations by 27 to 68% in FYL-Cl under cold and warm flooding, respectively, but had no significant effect in NBG-SL. The results indicate substantially less P release under cold, than under warm flooding. Gypsum was effective in reducing floodwater DRP concentrations only at high DRP concentrations; thus the effectiveness was greater under warm, than under cold flooding conditions.