Effects of plantation forest species on soil phosphorus

Highlights: The findings of this study revealed that depletion of top soil Po under all of the three tree species over 10 years following afforestation of grassland had a rapid and major impact on soil properties and processes mainly attributed to enhanced mineralisation of readily extractable organic P. The apparent net reduction in topsoil total P can be attributed to a combination of factors including cessation of grazing, decomposition of pasture residues, tree uptake, changes in organic matter and nutrient returns to soil under trees compared with grassland, and direct impacts of changes in the nature, distribution and activities of tree root systems compared with grassland. These findings confirm that afforestation of grassland has a major long-term impact on soil properties and processes