The aim of this study was to verify the influence of mineralogy and former soil use on adsorption and forms of P in Latosols. The following five soils were used to include a wide range of contents of hematite, goethite, kaolinite (Ka) and gibbsite (Gi): (cohesive Yellow Latosol, dystrophic Yellow Latosol, acric Red Latosol, and two dystropherric Red Latosols, one developed from gabbro and one from tuffite), collected from non-cultivated areas and adjacent areas cultivated for long periods, receiving liming and phosphated fertilization periodically. Physical, chemical and mineralogical characterizations were performed, involving particle-size distribution, Fe in less crystalline (Feo), free oxides (Fed) and "total" (Fes) forms, besides P fractionation and availability. Phosphorus adsorption was studied using 24 h of shaking and concentrations of 0; 5; 10; 25; 50; 75; 100 and 200 mg L-1, to obtain the adsorption isotherm from which the maximum adsorption capacity of P was obtained. The mineralogical composition of Fe-free and Fe-concentrated clay fractions was obtained using x-ray diffraction analysis and Ka/(Ka + Gi) ratio in the Fe-free clay fraction through differential thermal analysis. As the mineralogy of the Latosols became more oxidic, there was an increase in P adsorption, total P and the forms more strongly linked to Fe and Al. Cultivation differentially influenced P adsorption and increased the forms of P linked to Ca in all the soils. Less labile P forms predominated in the soils, especially the organic ones associated to humic compounds in the non-cultivated soils and to the inorganic ones linked to Fe and Al in the cultivated soils.
phosphorus availability; phosphorus fractionation