Chemical criteria to assess risk of phosphorus leaching from urban soils

Soils from urban and suburban areas are normally enriched with phosphorus (P). Sixteen urban soils with a wide range of total P concentrations under typical urban land uses were sampled and analyzed for extractable P concentrations using water, sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. Meanwhile the soils were artificially leached in columns and P concentrations in the leachates were determined. With linear regression a two-stage linear relationship was found to exist between concentrations of P in the leachates and soil P contents obtained by various chemical measurements, i.e., there was a "change-point" denoting the critical threshold value for extractable P between the regression lines, above which concentrations of P in leachates increased substantially. These threshold "change-point" values were 1.5 mg kg(-1) for water-soluble P and CaCl2-P, 25 mg kg(-1) for Olsen-P, and 250-350 mg kg(-1) for citric acid-P with the sharpest change and the best predictor [r(2) (upper) = 0.928, r(2) (lower) = 0.807] appearing for Olsen-P. These "change-points" were considered important criteria in assessing the risk of P leaching from urban soils and could be used as standards to delineate and target hazardous areas in urban and suburban areas.