Phosphorus dynamics in litter–soil systems during litter decomposition in larch plantations across the chronosequence

The dynamics of phosphorus (P) in litter–soil systems during litter decomposition across a plantation chronosequence remain to be underinvestigated, especially in terms of the nutrient cycle in plantations. In this study, the P dynamics in a litter–soil system of larch (Larix kaempferi) plantations at three stand ages (10, 25, and 50 years old) were examined through a 4-year in situ decomposition experiment (experiment 1) and a 360-day indoor incubation experiment (experiment 2). The aim of experiment 1 and experiment 2 is to determine the P dynamics in litter and soil, respectively. The results in experiment 1 suggested that litter mass retained 34.1%–42.5% of the initial mass after a 4-year decomposition period, and the turnover time (t(0.95)) of the decomposition was 11.3, 13.9, and 11.8 years for 10-, 25- and 50-year-old stand larch plantations, respectively. Litter exhibited a net P decrease during the first 180 days, followed by a phase of a net P increase. The lowest P accumulation rate was found in the 25-year-old stand during the P immobilization stage. This immobilization phase was followed by a slow litter P decrease. Highly correlated relations were found between the litter decomposition rate and the initial litter N concentration and C/N, whereas the P accumulation rate was noticeably correlated with the initial litter P and C/P. The results in experiment 2 showed that litter addition promoted the accumulation of the highly labile P (resin P, NaHCO(3)-P(i), and NaHCO(3)-P(o)), as well as moderately labile P(i) (NaOH-P(i)) in the soil. The findings obtained suggest that soil microbial biomass P and acid phosphatase activity were the primary factors driving the activation of soil P during litter decomposition. These findings would be beneficial to the systematic understanding of the nutrient cycle in plant–soil systems and litter management during the development of larch plantations.