Accretion of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in sand and silt fractions of a red-brown earth under pasture

Abstract

Organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus were determined in particle size and density fractions of a red-brown earth under a wheat-fallow rotation and an old pasture. In the soil under pasture organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus had accumulated particularly in sand fractions in the form of plant fragments and in particles 1-20 µm diameter as microbial debris.