Distribution of soil organic C, N and P in three adjacent land use patterns in the northern Loess Plateau, China

Wei, Xiaorong; Shao, Mingan; Fu, Xiaoli; Horton, Robert; Li, Yong; Zhang, Xingchang

doi:10.1007/s10533-009-9350-8

Cited by 99 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Vegetation restoration with Dodonaea viscosa and Heteropogon contortus had obvious effects on the population of soil microbial communities (BCP, ACP and TCP), mainly due to the fine roots of the grass and shrub which provided a habitat for the microbes (X.R. Wei et al 2009;C. Zhang et al 2011b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of vegetation restoration types on soil quality in Yuanmou dry-hot valley, China

Peng

Chen

Fang

et al. 2013

Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

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Soil erosion has resulted in serious land degradation in Yuanmou dry-hot valley, Yunnan province, China. Vegetation restoration had been widely developed in this hot and arid area. In this work we investigate the quality of rhizosphere soils under four restoration species in the towns of Zuolin (gully bed) and Yuanma (slope area). [pH, soil organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents], and microbial (microbial biomass and microbe quantity) properties and soil enzyme (catalase, protease and urease) activities were determined. Compared to the soils collected from other vegetation types, the soil under Leucaena leucocephala had the highest content of soil organic matter, total N, available N, total P, available P, available K, microbial biomass carbon (C), and the highest microbe quantity and enzyme activities. Five parameters (organic matter, pH, microbial biomass N, total K and protease activity), which had the greatest weight in the principal components analysis, were selected to calculate the soil quality index (SQI). The final SQI values implied that restoring Leucaena leucocephala greatly improved the soil quality, while restoration with Eucalyptus camaldulensis decreased the soil quality of the slope area. Plant recovery with Dodonaea viscosa and Heteropogon contortus on the gully bed affected the population of soil microbial communities but didn't improve the SQI values. It can therefore be seen that types of plants used for recovery in gully-developed regions in dry-hot valleys must be chosen cautiously: Leucaena leucocephala is a good choice for soil revegetation of the slope area, but the revegetation patterns on the gully bed still need further study.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of vegetation restoration types on soil quality in Yuanmou dry-hot valley, China

Peng

Chen

Fang

et al. 2013

Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

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“…The great differences could be attributed to the initial low carbon. The soils in the study area were characterized by low OC due to sandy soil texture, extensive and intensive soil erosion and small inputs of soil organic C and nutrients compared with other areas (Wei et al 2009). Therefore, our results indicated that these dry climate low carbon soils had a potential for C sequestration after grassland to woodland conversion.…”

Section: Implications For C Sequestrationmentioning

confidence: 91%

Changes in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen after 28 years grassland afforestation: effects of tree species, slope position, and soil order

Wei

Shao

et al. 2009

Plant Soil

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The effect of conversion of grassland to woodland on organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) has significance for global change, land resource use and ecosystem management. However, these effects are always variable. Here, we show results of a study in an arid area in China on profile distribution of OC and TN in soils covered by two different woody tree canopies and outer canopy space (grassland between woody plant canopies). The soils were at various slope positions (upper, middle and lower slopes) for Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) and Korshrinsk peashrub (Caragana korshinskii) lands, and of different soil orders (Castanozems, Skeletal, Loessial and Aeolian soils). The objectives were to relate the effects of land use change on OC and TN to slope position and soil order. Soil OC and TN were significantly larger at Korshrinsk peashrub slope locations than at Chinese pine slope locations. Soil OC and TN were small at the lower slope position for Korshrinsk peashrub, however, they were largest at the middle slope for Chinese pine. Korshrinsk peashrub always increased soil OC and TN under brush canopy at the three slope positions, while Chinese pine increased them at lower slopes and decreased them at upper slopes. For the soil types, OC and TN in Korshrinsk peashrub land were in the order of Castanozems > Skeletal > Loessial > Aeolian soils. Korshrinsk peashrub also increased OC and TN under brush canopy in the four soils. Our results indicated that soil OC and TN in canopy soils differed greatly from associated values in the outer canopy soils, and the effects of grassland afforestation varied significantly with tree species, slope position, and soil type. Therefore, we suggest that differentiating such factors can be an effective approach for explaining variances in OC and N changes caused by land use conversion.

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“…Albaladejo et al (1994) reported that the increase in SOC and nitrogen could be accompanied by improvement in the soil structure and diminution of bulk density, consistent with our results. These effects could be attributed to the extensive fine root systems in grasslands that also enhance the soil porosity (Wei et al 2009). The various acid exudates released from roots could be responsible for the small differences in the pH values (Garcia et al 2005).…”

Section: Soil Physicochemical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to our results, Caravaca et al (2003) found that perennial grass species improved soil quality in an abandoned agroecosystem in Spain by increasing organic matter and nitrogen content, as well as by favoring the formation of stable aggregates and the development of mycorrhizal propagules. Furthermore, extensive fine root systems in grasslands can be another contributing factor to the high grassland soil quality, because abundant exudates released from roots and widely distributed in the soil improve chemical and physical soil properties (Wei et al 2009;Zhang et al 2010).…”

Section: Soil Quality Index (Sqi)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of soil qualities of different revegetation types in the Loess Plateau, China

et al. 2011

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Serious soil erosion has resulted in widespread land degradation in the Loess Plateau of China. In the past two decades, great efforts have been made to restore degraded soil such as reconverting croplands into forestlands or grasslands. A comparison of soil qualities of different revegetation types has important implications in soil reclamation. Our study investigated the effect of different revegetation types on the physicochemical and microbial soil properties in the Loess Plateau, with the aim of determining which revegetation type has the best capacity for soil recovery. The vegetation types included two shrublands (Caragana korshinskii and Hippophae rhamnoides), two grasslands (Astragalus adsurgens and Panicum virgatum), and two species from croplands that were abandoned for natural recovery (Artemisia capillaries and Heteropappus altaicus). Among the plants studied, H. altaicus and A. capillaries had the highest values of soil organic C, total N, total P, available N, available P, moisture content, microbial biomass C (MBC), substrate-induced respiration, saccharase, urease, catalase, and peroxidase. Soil sampled from the A. adsurgens plot had the highest bulk density and microbial biomass N, and soil from the H. rhamnoides plot had the highest metabolic quotient (basal respiration/MBC). The soil quality index, which was obtained based on the available N, metabolic quotient, MBC, urease, polyphenol oxidase, and bulk density, shows that the abandoned cropland for natural recovery had the highest soil quality, followed by grassland, and then shrubland. Vegetation types affect the physicochemical and microbial properties of soils in arid climatic conditions. Abandoned cropland for natural recovery has the best capacity for improving soil quality in the Loess Plateau among all studied revegetation types. Our study suggests that in the Loess Plateau, natural recovery is the best choice for soil revegetation of sloping croplands.

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Distribution of soil organic C, N and P in three adjacent land use patterns in the northern Loess Plateau, China

Cited by 99 publications

References 41 publications

Effects of vegetation restoration types on soil quality in Yuanmou dry-hot valley, China

Effects of vegetation restoration types on soil quality in Yuanmou dry-hot valley, China

Changes in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen after 28 years grassland afforestation: effects of tree species, slope position, and soil order

A comparison of soil qualities of different revegetation types in the Loess Plateau, China

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