Phosphate

Hello,

Why is phosphate leaching from soil seldom a problem? Under what circumstances can it become a problem? Explain.

I am still confused about why/how phosphate is stuck in the soil in in soluble conditions.

Thanks!

For an ion (e.g. phosphate) to be leached out of a soil, the ion needs to be in soil solution. Very few phosphate ions will be in solution of any soil due to the process of phosphate fixation. Phosphate fixation transforms phosphate ions from soluble, mobile ionic form into an insoluble form of either iron-phosphate and aluminum-phosphate (in acidic soils) or calcium-phosphate (in alkaline soils).