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Thephosphoruscycle|SciencelearnHub

Sidenavigation

Thephosphoruscycle
PhosphorusisachemicalelementfoundonEarthinnumerouscompoundforms,suchasthe
phosphateion(PO43),locatedinwater,soilandsediments.Thequantitiesofphosphorusinsoilare
generallysmall,andthisoftenlimitsplantgrowth.Thatiswhypeopleoftenapplyphosphate
fertilisersonfarmland.Animalsabsorbphosphatesbyeatingplantsorplanteatinganimals.

Theroleofphosphorusinanimalsandplants
Phosphorusisanessentialnutrientforanimalsandplants.Itplaysacriticalroleincelldevelopment
andisakeycomponentofmoleculesthatstoreenergy,suchasATP(adenosinetriphosphate),DNA
andlipids(fatsandoils).Insufficientphosphorusinthesoilcanresultinadecreasedcropyield.

Thephosphoruscycle
Phosphorusmovesinacyclethroughrocks,water,soilandsedimentsandorganisms.
Herearethekeystepsofthephosphoruscycle:
Overtime,rainandweatheringcauserockstoreleasephosphateionsandotherminerals.This
inorganicphosphateisthendistributedinsoilsandwater.
Plantstakeupinorganicphosphatefromthesoil.Theplantsmaythenbeconsumedbyanimals.
Onceintheplantoranimal,thephosphateisincorporatedintoorganicmoleculessuchasDNA.
Whentheplantoranimaldies,itdecays,andtheorganicphosphateisreturnedtothesoil.
Withinthesoil,organicformsofphosphatecanbemadeavailabletoplantsbybacteriathat
breakdownorganicmattertoinorganicformsofphosphorus.Thisprocessisknownas
mineralisation.
Phosphorusinsoilcanendupinwaterwaysandeventuallyoceans.Oncethere,itcanbe
incorporatedintosedimentsovertime.

Image:Thephosphoruscycle
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Mostphosphorusisunavailabletoplants
Sincemostofourphosphorusislockedupinsedimentsandrocks,itsnotavailableforplantstouse.
Alotofthephosphorusinsoilsisalsounavailabletoplants.
Soilphosphorusbecomesunavailabletoplantsthroughseveralroutes:
Bacteria:Bacteriaconvertplantavailablephosphateintoorganicformsthatarethennot
availabletoplants.Althoughotherbacteriamakephosphateavailablebymineralisation,the
contributionofthisissmall.
Adsorption:Inorganic(andavailable)phosphoruscanbechemicallybound(adsorbed)tosoil
particles,makingitunavailabletoplants.Desorptionisthereleaseofadsorbedphosphorus
fromitsboundstateintosoilsolution.
pH:Inorganicphosphoruscompoundsneedtobesolubletobetakenupbyplants.Thisdepends
ontheacidity(pH)ofthesoil.IfsoilsarelessthanpH4orgreaterthanpH8,thephosphorus
startstobecometiedupwithothercompounds,makingitlessavailabletoplants.
Manyplantcropsneedmorephosphorusthanisdissolvedinthesoiltogrowoptimally.Inaddition,
cropsareusuallyharvestedandremovedleavingnodecayingvegetationtoreplacephosphorus.
Therefore,farmersreplenishthephosphoruspoolbyaddingfertilisersoreffluenttoreplacethe
phosphorustakenupbyplants.

Image:Phosphorusavailabilitytoplants

Phosphatefertilisersreplenishsoilphosphorus
Manyfarmersreplenishphosphorusthroughtheuseofphosphatefertilisers.Thephosphorusis
obtainedbyminingdepositsofrockphosphate.Locallyproducedsulfuricacidisusedtoconvertthe
insolublerockphosphateintoamoresolubleandusableformafertiliserproductcalled
superphosphate.
InNewZealand,superphosphateismadeusingrockimportedmainlyfromMorocco.

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AdjustingthepHofthesoilforefficientplantuptakeofphosphateshouldbedonepriortofertilisation.
Forexample,addinglimereducessoilacidity,whichprovidesanenvironmentwherephosphate
becomesmoreavailabletoplants.

Waterpollutionbyfertilisers
Whenfieldsareoverfertilised(throughcommercialfertilisersormanure),phosphatenotutilisedby
plantscanbelostfromthesoilthroughleachingandwaterrunoff.Thisphosphateendsupin
waterways,lakesandestuaries.Excessphosphatecausesexcessivegrowthofplantsinwaterways,
lakesandestuariesleadingtoeutrophication.
Stepsarebeingtakeninagriculturetoreducephosphatelossesinordertomaximisetheefficiencyof
fertiliserandeffluentapplications.
NATUREOFSCIENCE
Scientistsmakeobservationsanddeveloptheirexplanationsusinginference,imaginationand
creativity.Oftentheyusemodelstohelpotherscientistsunderstandtheirtheories.Thephosphorus
cyclediagramisanexampleofanexplanatorymodel.Diagramsdemonstratethecreativity
requiredbyscientiststousetheirobservationstodevelopmodelsandtocommunicatetheir
explanationstoothers.

Published:

30July2013

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