Phosphorus speciation by 31P NMR spectroscopy in bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn) and bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta (L.) Chouard ex Rothm.) dominated semi-natural upland soil
2016
Ebuele, Victor O. | Santoro, Anna | Thoss, Vera
Access to P species is a driver for plant community composition based on nutrient acquisition. Here we investigated the distribution and accumulation of soil inorganic P (Pi) and organic P (Po) forms in a bracken and bluebell dominated upland soil for the period between bluebell above ground dominance until biomass is formed from half bluebells and half bracken. Chemical characterisation and ³¹P Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy was used to determine the organic and inorganic P species. Total P concentration in soils was 0.87gkg⁻¹, while in plants (above- and below-ground parts) total P ranged between 0.84–4.0gkg⁻¹ and 0.14–2.0gkg⁻¹ for bluebell and bracken, respectively. The P speciation in the plant samples was reflected in the surrounding soil. The main forms of inorganic P detected in the NaOH-EDTA soil extracts were orthophosphate (20.0–31.5%), pyrophosphate (0.6–2.5%) and polyphosphate (0.4–7.0%). Phytate (myo-IP₆) was the most dominant organic P form (23.6–40.0%). Other major peaks were scyllo-IP₆ and α- and β- glycerophosphate (glyP). In bluebells and bracken the main P form detected was orthophosphate ranging from (21.7–80.4%) and 68.5–81.1%, in above-ground and below-ground biomass, respectively. Other detected forms include α-glyP (4.5–14.4%) and β-glyP (0.9–7.7%) in bluebell, while in bracken they were detected only in stripe and blade in ranges of 2.5–5.5% and 4.4–9.6%, respectively. Pyrophosphate, polyphosphate, scyllo-IP₆, phosphonates, found in soil samples, were not detected in any plant parts. In particular, the high abundance of phytate in the soil and in bluebell bulbs, may be related to a mechanism through which bluebells create a recalcitrant phosphorus store which form a key part of their adaptation to nutrient poor conditions.
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