What ionic form is phosphorus found in?

Hint: To know the ionic form in which phosphorus is found, then we should go through the concept of ionic formation of phosphorus. And then we will also discuss more the formation and uses of phosphorus.

Complete step by step solution:
Phosphate $ P{O_4}^{ - 3} $ is the ionic form, which is found in phosphorus.
Phosphorus has five outer electrons that can bind with four Oxygen atoms. The resulting ion has a charge of -3.
The chemistry of phosphorus is often dominated by the strength of the oxygen-phosphorus bond, which is around $ 152{\text{ }}kcal/mol{\text{ }}\left( {kilocalories{\text{ }}per{\text{ }}mole} \right) $ . This extremely strong bond is the driving force behind several reactions involving phosphorus. For example, the reaction of $ PC{l_5} $ with water to become $ {H_3}P{O_4} $ allows it to serve as a drying agent, or dessicant, with the $ P - O $ bond formation as the driving force. The oxygen-phosphorus bond also prohibits phosphorus from being observed in its elemental state in nature. It is always found as an oxide.
The majority of phosphorus-containing compounds are produced for use as fertilizers. For this purpose, phosphate-containing minerals are converted to phosphoric acid. Two distinct routes are employed; the main one is treatment of phosphate minerals with sulphuric acid. The other process utilizes white phosphorus, which may be produced by reaction and distillation from very low-grade phosphate sources. The white phosphorus is then oxidized to phosphoric acid and finally neutralized with a base to yield phosphate salts. Phosphoric acid obtained from white phosphorus is relatively pure and is the main source of phosphates used in detergents and other non-fertilizer applications.

Note:
Phosphate, $ P{O_4}^{ - 3} $ is a dominant form of inorganic phosphorus in natural waters, but concentrations are often near or below detection in pristine waters $ \left( {about{\text{ }}1-10{\text{ }}\mu g/L} \right) $ . Phosphorus is covalent and its structure is giant covalent/macromolecular. Phosphate is in ionic form.