Context The release of potassium (K) from K-bearing minerals in the soils of arid and semi-arid regions is crucial.Aims This study aims to investigate the role of wood vinegar in K release from soils under various land uses and to compare its effectiveness with other extractants.Methods The experimental treatments included three different land use types (grape, wheat, and rangeland) and four extractants [hydrochloric acid (HCl), calcium chloride (CaCl2), oxalic acid, and wood vinegar] at a concentration of 0.01 M over 10 consecutive half-hour periods. The experimental release data were fitted to various kinetic equations.Results Analysis of variance revealed that both the extractant and land use significantly affected the amount of released K (P < 0.01). The wood vinegar extractant had the highest release rate (3794 mg kg-1), while CaCl2 had the lowest release rate (156.1 mg kg-1). Power function and parabolic diffusion equations provided the best fit for the data (r2 = 0.99). The results indicate that the 'b' coefficient across all applications adheres to the following sequence: wood vinegar > HCl > oxalic acid > CaCl2. The highest release rate was for grape cultivation, followed by rangeland and wheat cultivation, as described by the parabolic diffusion equation. The clay mineralogy analysis indicated a transformation of vermiculite clay to smectite-illite and illite-vermiculite mixed clays when using the oxalic acid extractant, and completely into illite or dissolution in the soil sample using the wood vinegar extractant.Conclusions It is recommended that wood vinegar be used to supply K in K-depleted soils containing K-bearing minerals.Implications Wood vinegar is introduced as sustainable strategy for releasing potassium from soil mineral sources.