Phosphorus (P) is often limiting in aquatic ecosystems. The quantity of available P is often determined by sediment binding and release processes. We obtained 32 sediment samples from shallow freshwater ecosystems in Southwest Michigan. Sediment cores were separated into consolidated and flocculent strata for analysis of percent organic matter, total sediment phosphorus (TP), and HCl-extractable iron (HCl~Fe). Sediment TP ranged from 110-3348 ugP/gdw, with an average of 1052 ugP/gdw. On average, flocculent sediment contained slightly more TP (1200 ugP/gdw) of consolidated strata below (917 ugP/gdw), and it was also higher in organic matter and HCl~Fe. Across all samples, total sediment P was unrelated to HCl~Fe, but was positively related to percent organic matter. Sequential phosphorus fractionation performed on a small subset of these samples suggests that the majority of P in these sediments is typically found in organic fractions. Many past studies have focused on the reactivity of inorganically-bound orthophosphate in sediments. Future studies should investigate the reactivity of the quantitatively dominant organic P fraction, with particular focus on the unique processes of flocculent sediments.