The soils of Fernando de Noronha Island present high natural soil fertility and high contents of phosphorus (P) derived from vulcanic soil parent material and probably "guano" deposits. Soil phosphorus fractionation was carried out in these soils in order to define the distribution of organic and inorganic fractions in soil horizon, providing information for studies on soil genesis and prediction of plant available P forms in soils. Five soil profiles were selected and twenty four soil samples were analysed aiming to determine organic and inorganic P fractions, which were correlated with each other as well as with soil chemical properties. The results showed that the high P contents found in the soil samples were derived mainly from the soil parent material and, as a consequence, the organic phosphorus was less important than inorganic forms in contributing to the total phosphorus in such soils. P-Ca and P-Fe fractions are the most important chemical forms in the soil samples. The Mehlich-3 ond Olsen extractors, which were better correlated to labile fractions of phosphorus, were more efficient than Mehlich-1 for predicting the available phosphorus in the soils.
P fractions; orgânic phosphorus; parent material
