The effects of phosphate buffer capacity on the plant-avMlability of labile soil phosphate, when measured as intensity (I) or quantity (Q), are described and tested using results from a greenhouse experiment on 24 Sherborne soils. In multiple regression studies, phosphate buffer capacity with I or Q measurements as independent variables accounted for up to 94% of the variance in P uptake by ryegrass, the maximum buffer capacity being generally more useful than the equilibrium buffer capacity.
When the quantity of soil P is measured (Q), its availability (i.e. ease of desorption) to plant roots is inversely related to the Langmuir bonding energy parameter and the buffer capacity. When the intensity of soil P is measured (I), its availability (i.e. resistance to change) is directly related to the adsorption and buffer capacities. The levels of Q or I, therefore, which are optimal for plant uptake vary with the buffer capacity of the soil. There is little or no correlation between the adsorption capacity and the bonding energy in many soils and consequently phosphate buffer capacity is only poorly correlated with the total adsorption capacity.