Identification of phosphorus sources using oxygen isotope signatures of the recalcitrant and residual phosphorus pools in soils and sediments

Excess phosphorus (P) loading has led to eutrophication and deteriorated the water quality globally. The existing limitation of analytical methods for tracing residual and recalcitrant P pools has posed a challenge to discern specific sources, specifically legacy sources, which are considered the missing piece of the global P puzzle. In this study, residual P pools of soils and sediments from the East Creek micro‐watershed in the Chesapeake Bay watershed were sequentially extracted using 10 M HNO3, 10 M NaOH, and aqua regia, and phosphate oxygen isotopes (δ18OP) of these soil P pools were then measured. Additionally, the isotope integrity of each reagent was assessed and found that 10 M HNO3 and 10 M NaOH do not significantly compromise the original isotope values over the extraction time. The isotopes of inorganic residual soil Pi pools revealed a distinct range of isotope values among different land uses as well as specific landforms within each land use, suggesting the usefulness of isotopes of residual Pi pools to discriminate different P sources in sub‐land uses. Furthermore, isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) of residual soil pools showed distinct signatures among sources and pointed to potential signals imprinted from the past cropping systems. Contributions of soils from wetland, streambank, agricultural land, and forest sources varied systematically along East Creek. The Bayesian elemental fingerprinting model provided the effect of the dynamic nature of sources, as well as potential creek meanders. In conclusion, the integration of multi‐isotope and elemental fingerprinting methods of residual soil Pi pools presents a promising and complementary tool for tracking P sources in watersheds.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Soil Science Society of America Journal

• Publication date

  2025-09-01

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1002/saj2.70127
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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