Soils used for flooded rice in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, evolved from different materials which led to variations in the distribution of P fractions. In order to quantify the phosphorus fractions and relate them with the P uptake by rice plants, a greenhouse experiment was conducted with four soil samples where rice was grown for 35 days, without and with the addition of 39.30 mg kg-1 P. In the soil samples before cultivation, the available P was determined (Mehlich-1) and the fractionation of P in the samples was determined by the Hedley's method. The P uptake by rice plants was correlated with the labile P fractions (Pi RTA and Pi NaHCO3) and correlated also with the moderately labile fractions (NaOH 0.1 mol L-1 and 0.5 NaOH mol L-1). The P extracted from the soil samples by resin and Mehlich-1 correlated with the P extracted by labile and moderately labile fractions; the association was stronger for resin (Pi RTA). The P added most recently to the soil samples as triple superphosphate increased mainly the fraction of moderately labile P (Pi NaOH 0.1 mol L-1) and, to a lesser extent, the labile fraction (Pi NaHCO3 and Pi RTA).
phosphorus fractionation; phosphorus availability; wetland soils
