Non-crystalline minerals are formed through weathering processes from volcanic materials and strongly bind phosphorus (P), which may reduce the P availability for forest trees on volcanic soils. It has not been clarified if/how trees grown on volcanic soils acquire the recalcitrant P from soils. The objective of this study is to clarify the patterns of tree acquisition of soil P by comparing volcanic vs. non-volcanic soils. We selected eight secondary forests where Quercus serrata was dominant in Japan as study sites. We collected rhizosphere and bulk soils and fine roots of Q. serrata from each site. We determined soil P fraction, non-crystalline minerals, root acid-phosphatase activity, microbial biomass and root functional traits for both rhizosphere and bulk soils. The concentration of each P fraction in bulk soils was higher in volcanic soils than in non-volcanic soils. Organic-P concentration was higher in rhizosphere than in bulk soils for non-volcanic soils, which lead to the increased total P in the rhizosphere. Contribution of phosphatase and soil microbes to produce inorganic P in rhizosphere may be larger for non-volcanic soils. On volcanic soils, only inorganic-P concentration including P binding to non-crystalline was lower in rhizosphere than in bulk soils and total phosphorus did not vary. Trees on volcanic soils may use even soil recalcitrant P and utilize greater P than trees on non-volcanic soils.