Characteristics of Various Sediments on Phosphorus Sorption and Desorption.

Sediments collected from different sources, such as river, lagoon, wetland, estuary, canal, lake, and ocean, were evaluated for behaviors on phosphorus sorption and desorption simulated at the natural environment. The results indicate that the sorption and desorption rates of the studied sediments differ greatly from various sources, which are closely related to the sedimentary environments, physical traits, such as particle distribution, content of organic matter, and some chemical characteristics, pH, cation exchange capacity, etc., which have revealed the capacities of different sediments in binding phosphorus from the environment, and releasing their bound phosphorus to the environment for its availability.