A rhizobox experiment was conducted to study the effect of growing rice (Oryza sativa L.) on the movement and transformation of K in a red paddy soil. Results showed that K uptake by rice reduced the concentrations of soil water‐soluble K (Sol‐K), exchangeable K (Ex‐K), and non‐exchangeable K (Nonex‐K) in the root zone. Soil Sol‐K in non‐root‐zone compartment close to the root zone (0–6 cm) migrated toward the root zone, and soil Ex‐K (0–4 cm) and soil Nonex‐K (0–3 cm) was released into soil solution. As the rice growth progressed, soil Sol‐K, Ex‐K, and Nonex‐K in the root zone and soil Sol‐K in non‐root‐zone compartment close to the root zone (0–6 cm) continued to decrease. Decreases of soil Ex‐K and Nonex‐K in non‐root‐zone compartment extended from the root to 6 and 5 cm into the bulk soil, respectively. At the late grain‐filling stage, soil Sol‐K concentration in the root zone and non‐root‐zone compartment (0–6 cm) declined, and then remained stable, whereas Sol‐K in the non‐root zone (6–7 cm) kept diffusing toward the root zone. Soil Ex‐K and Nonex‐K in the root zone and non‐root‐zone compartment continued to reduce, and the decrease distance of soil Nonex‐K was extended to 6 cm. Within the whole season, soil Ex‐K and Nonex‐K were the main forms of K available to the plants, followed by Sol‐K. The information obtained in this study indicated that K fertilizer should be added to the place around the root zone.

Potassium (K) fixation and release in soil are important factors affecting K availability to plants and the utilization efficiency of K fertilizer. Three typical soils (red soil, yellow cinnamon soil, and alluvial soil) were collected from the middle and lower reaches of Yangtse River, China, to study the K-fixation and K-release characteristics of the normal and K-exhausted soil. Results showed that K fixation of added K in K-exhausted soils were significantly (P < 0.05) greater than that of the normal soils. There were significantly (P < 0.05) negative correlations among K-fixation capacity, concentration of soil-available K, and K + saturation. Irrespective of soil K exhaustion, K fixation of added K was in the order of red soil > yellow cinnamon soil > alluvial soil, but the cumulative amount of K released from the three soils during successive extractions with 1.0 mol L −1 nitric acid (HNO 3 ) was in the opposite order. The cumulative amounts of K released with 1.0 mol L −1 ammonium acetate (NH 4 OAc) and 1.0 mol L −1 HNO 3 extraction increased with the increasing numbers of extractions. The K-releasing power of soil by successive extraction decreased gradually and finally became almost constant. The release of K was lower in K-exhausted soil than in normal soil. Overall, the information obtained in this study will be helpful in formulating more precise K fertilizer recommendations for certain soils.

To understand the chemical behavior of potassium (K) in soil, rhizobox experiments were conducted to study the effects of K uptake by cultivated rice and soil type on K migration and transformation in soils. The aim of this study was to guide reasonable application of K fertilizer in different soil types. The results showed that at the maximum tillering stage, the migration distances of water-soluble K (Sol-K) were 6 and 5 cm, the depletion of exchangeable K (Ex-K) was 7 and 4 cm, and depletion of nonexchangeable K (Nonex-K) was 1 and 5 cm, respectively, in yellow cinnamon soil (YCS) and fluvo-aquic soil (FS). With the growth of rice, the migration distances of Sol-K showed little difference between YCS and FS. Throughout the season, the contributions of Sol-K, Ex-K, and Nonex-K to K uptake in YCS were 12.0%, 40.0%, and 48.0%, respectively, whereas their contributions in FS were 25.7%, 25.8%, and 48.5%, respectively. K uptake by rice was linearly related to the concentration of different forms of K in soils (R2 = 0.687*). In conclusion, soil type significantly affected K mobilization and transformation behavior. This indicated that the location of K fertilizer addition in the root zone should differ with soil type.