Profile distribution of micronutrients in an aquic brown soil as affected by land use

Abstract

To assess the land use effects on soil micronutrients, this study examined the profile variation and storage of DTPAextractable iron, manganese, copper and zinc at the depth of 0-150 cm of an aquic brown soil under four land use patterns, i.e. paddy, maize, and fallow fields and woodland, over 14 years in an ecological experimental station of northeastern China. Results showed that land use effect, soil depth, and their interactions on micronutrients were significantly different, and they were decreased with soil depth. Micronutrient storages in woodland and fallow field were significantly greater than in paddy field (P < 0.05), and significantly or comparatively greater than in maize field. Micronutrients were positively correlated with soil organic carbon, but negatively with soil pH in profiles. Plant cycling and soil pH may contribute a lot in enhancing soil micronutrient levels in woodland and fallow field, while the lower organic matter content and higher soil pH may inhibit the micronutrient availability in paddy field. The study suggested that the profile distribution of soil micronutrients was mainly controlled by biological cycling, anthropogenic disturbance and leaching and strongly affected by land uses.

Effect of Land-uses on Physico-Chemical Properties and Nutrient Status of Surface (0-15 cm) and Sub-Surface (15-30 cm) Layers in Soils of South-Western Punjab, India

“…Micronutrient rich soils of horticultural lands may be due addition of organic matter in the form of litter fall which also influences microbial activity that facilitates the availability of the elements (Reganold andPalmer, 1995, Sharma et al, 1999). Somasundaram et al, (2009) andJiang et al, (2009) have been reported that there is a positive and significant correlation between micronutrients with SOC and similar trend was observed in our study also. Regular application of fertilizers and farm yard manures in the croplands leads to addition of OC which facilitates the availability of micronutrients (Dhaliwal et al, 2009;Rattan et al, 1999).…”

“…So, assessment of soil quality should be considered as one of the important issues to maintain both agricultural and environmental sustainability (Karlen et al, 2008). Different agricultural land-uses greatly influence soil quality and physico-chemical properties (PazKagan, et al, 2014) and affect the nutrient dynamics and supply (Murty et al, 2002;Jiang et al, 2002). Due to rapid conversion of natural ecosystems into human driven systems knowledge of proper management practices and adoption of suitable land-use systems are highly needed.…”

“…Soil micro-nutrients availability also depends on soil pH, SOM content and several physical, chemical and biological conditions of the rhizosphere. So, land-use changes could alter the soil physicochemical and biological properties which might be the reason behind the variation of micronutrient availability under different landuse systems (Jiang et al, 2002;Wasihun et al, 2015). Assessment of soil biological activity is also important to maintain the sustainability of ecology of soil.…”

Soil and Leaf Micronutrient Composition in Contrasting Habitats in Podzolized Sands of the Amazon Region

“…Consistent with these ranges, the Zn and B levels were low at all of the sites, Cu was very low but above the critical value of 1 mg·kg ) were comparable to those found in other nutrient poor environments [19,20]. However, in more fertile soils the levels of Zn (2 -4 mg·kg ) are considerable higher [21][22][23]. Micronutrient shortages greatly affect soil fertility and consequently constrain plant productivity, inhibit growth, and exacerbate leaf senescence [19,24].…”

“…The total level of micronutrients in the soil is determined by the original geological substrate and subsequent geological and pedogenic regimes [21], but the accumulation of a given element within plants is controlled by complex processes regulated by a network of gene products critical for uptake, binding, transportation, and sequestration [5]. The concentrations of leaf micronutrients: Fe, Zn, B, and Cu were below the sufficiency levels 72, 15 -20, 20 -70, 3 -7 mg·Kg ) in all species except P. sordida, but below the accumulator levels of 1000 mg·kg −1 [32].…”