A 10-year monitoring of soil properties dynamics and soil fertility evaluation in Chinese hickory plantation regions of southeastern China

Jin Jin,Weijun Fu,Karin Müller,Keli Zhao,Jiasen Wu,Hailong Wang,Luoqi Wang,Frank Berninger

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02947-z

Abstract

Monitoring the temporal and spatial variation of soil properties is helpful to understand the evolution of soil properties and adjust the management method in time. Soil fertility evaluation is an urgent need to understand soil fertility level and prevent soil degradation. Here, we conducted an intensive field investigation in Chinese hickory (Carya cathayensis Sarg.) plantation to clarify the spatial and temporal variation of soil properties and its influencing factors, and to evaluate the change of soil fertility. The results showed that the soil pH and soil organic carbon (SOC) significantly increased from 2008 to 2018, while available nitrogen (AN) significantly decreased from 2008 to 2018. The semi-variance revealed that except available phosphorus (AP), the spatial dependencies of soil properties increased from 2008 to 2018. An increasing south-north gradient was found for soil AN, AP, available potassium (AK) and SOC and a decreasing south-north gradient was found for soil pH. The average soil fertility in the whole area was increased from 2008 to 2018. Our findings demonstrated that the changes of the management measures were the reason for the change of soil properties from 2008 to 2018. Therefore, rational fertilization strategies and sod cultivation are recommended to maintain the long-term development of the producing forest.

Highlights

Monitoring the temporal and spatial variation of soil properties is helpful to understand the evolution of soil properties and adjust the management method in time
It is well known that excessive application of inorganic fertilizer is an important cause of soil a cidification51,52. NH4+ ions in the fertilizer replace the basic cations ( Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+) bound on the soil surface, making it easier to leach from the soil and reducing its buffering effect on acidification
When an N H4+ ion is absorbed by the crop, an H + ion is released into the soil solution, causing soil acidification

Summary

Introduction

Monitoring the temporal and spatial variation of soil properties is helpful to understand the evolution of soil properties and adjust the management method in time. We conducted an intensive field investigation in Chinese hickory (Carya cathayensis Sarg.) plantation to clarify the spatial and temporal variation of soil properties and its influencing factors, and to evaluate the change of soil fertility. Proper soil management can improve food quality and safety, maintain or improve soil fertility levels and avoid soil degradation[1,2] From this perspective, long-term monitoring of changes in soil physiochemical properties contributes to make informed decisions for sustainable land use. Under the long-term intensive management, the soil texture of moso bamboo forest had clear spatial heterogeneity, which affected the productivity of moso bamboo forest[25]. It is necessary to understand the spatial variation of soil properties and identify areas with low or high soil fertility, which could further guide site-specific land management strategies

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion