Distribution of Phosphorus Forms Along the Altitude Gradient in the Soil of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and the Influencing Factors

Cao, Zhiyuan; Liu, Zhan; Li, Xueting; Li, Cuilan; Zong, Ning; Zhang, Jinjing; He, Nianpeng

doi:10.3390/agronomy15112474

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Distribution of Phosphorus Forms Along the Altitude Gradient in the Soil of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and the Influencing Factors

by

Zhiyuan Cao

^1,2,†,

Zhan Liu

^1,†,

Xueting Li

¹,

Cuilan Li

²,

Ning Zong

³

,

Jinjing Zhang

^2,* and

Nianpeng He

^4,*

¹

College of Agronomy, Yanbian University, Yanji 133002, China

²

Key Laboratory of Soil Resource Sustainable Utilization for Jilin Province Commodity Grain Bases, College of Resource and Environmental Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China

³

Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100101, China

⁴

Institute of Carbon Neutrality, School of Ecology, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Agronomy 2025, 15(11), 2474; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15112474 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 3 September 2025 / Revised: 28 September 2025 / Accepted: 23 October 2025 / Published: 24 October 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Soil and Plant Nutrition)

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Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is a key limiting nutrient in alpine meadows. Analyzing the spatial distribution of soil P and its forms along altitudinal gradients is crucial to understand soil nutrient cycling and sustain productivity under climate change. In this study, changes in the total P, available P, inorganic P (Pi), and organic P (Po) contents in soil along an altitudinal gradient of 4400–5200 m on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau were investigated using sequential chemical fractionation and solution ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The results showed that the contents of total soil P, available P, Pi, and Po forms showed vertical distribution patterns. At an altitude of 4400–4950 m, the dominance of NaOH-Po was observed, whereas HCl-Pi was predominant at 5200 m. With increasing elevation, total soil P, orthophosphate, NaHCO₃-Pi, NaOH-Pi, HCl-Pi, and HCl-Po contents increased gradually. In contrast, the concentrations of available P, H₂O-Pi, H₂O-Po, NaHCO₃-Po, NaOH-Po, pyrophosphate, orthophosphate monoester, and diester initially increased, peaked at approximately 4950 m, and subsequently decreased. Both climatic factors (i.e., mean annual temperature and precipitation) and biological factors (aboveground biomass and enzyme activity) jointly regulated the vertical distribution of soil P forms in the alpine ecosystems.

Keywords: phosphorus; chemical fractionation; solution ³¹P NMR; altitudinal gradient; Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

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MDPI and ACS Style

Cao, Z.; Liu, Z.; Li, X.; Li, C.; Zong, N.; Zhang, J.; He, N. Distribution of Phosphorus Forms Along the Altitude Gradient in the Soil of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and the Influencing Factors. Agronomy 2025, 15, 2474. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15112474

AMA Style

Cao Z, Liu Z, Li X, Li C, Zong N, Zhang J, He N. Distribution of Phosphorus Forms Along the Altitude Gradient in the Soil of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and the Influencing Factors. Agronomy. 2025; 15(11):2474. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15112474

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cao, Zhiyuan, Zhan Liu, Xueting Li, Cuilan Li, Ning Zong, Jinjing Zhang, and Nianpeng He. 2025. "Distribution of Phosphorus Forms Along the Altitude Gradient in the Soil of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and the Influencing Factors" Agronomy 15, no. 11: 2474. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15112474

APA Style

Cao, Z., Liu, Z., Li, X., Li, C., Zong, N., Zhang, J., & He, N. (2025). Distribution of Phosphorus Forms Along the Altitude Gradient in the Soil of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and the Influencing Factors. Agronomy, 15(11), 2474. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15112474

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Distribution of Phosphorus Forms Along the Altitude Gradient in the Soil of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and the Influencing Factors

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