
%0 Journal Article
%A Pailles, C 
%A Moody, PW 
%T Phosphorus sorption-desorption by some sediments of the Johnstone Rivers catchment, northern Queensland
%J Marine and Freshwater Research
%D 1992/12/01
%V 43
%N 6
%P 1535-1545
%K 
%R https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9921535
%U https://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MF9921535 
%X Phosphorus (P) sorption-desorption characteristics were determined for 11 sediments from the Johnstone Rivers catchment, northern Queensland. Sediments were selected to cover a range in values of Bray extractable P from 0.1 to 10.4 mg P kg-1. P sorption curves were determined by using 0.01 M NaCl to simulate fluvial water conditions and, on a restricted number of sediments, 0.5 M NaCl to simulate sea water. The amounts of P released in 10 successive extractions for 30 min with 0.01 M CaCl2 were determined for each sediment. The amounts of P desorbed either declined to nondetectable levels or declined to a constant amount. These desorption curves were used to delineate 'rapidly desorbable' P from 'slowly desorbable' P. Bray extractable P and adsorption characteristics (equilibrium solution P concentration and P buffer capacity) were poorly correlated with 'rapidly desorbable' P. Most sediments in the suite would act as P sinks in both fluvial and marine environments because their equilibrium P concentrations are lower than the dissolved inorganic P concentrations of their respective water columns. For those sediments acting as potential sources (5 from 11 in 0.01 M NaC1, 2 from 6 in 0.5 M NaCl), amounts of P that could potentially be desorbed into the fluvial water column ranged from 0.1 to 3.9 mg P kg-1 sediment. 
