Fractal Characteristics of Soil Particle-Size Distributions under Different Landform and Land-Use Types

Abstract

It can provide theoretical guidance for the prevention of soil erosion and planting structure adjustment to study on fractal characteristics of soil particle-size distributions under different landform and land-use types. Soil particle-size distribution (PSD) is one of the most important physical attributes due to its strong influence on soil properties related to water movement, productivity and soil erosion. The fractal and multifractal measures were useful tools in identifying soil PSD with different taxonomy. Land-use type, as one of important factors to affect soil PSD was paid little attention in the previous research. In this paper, the theory of soil particle-size fractal was applied to characterize PSD in soils with the same taxonomy and different land-use types. Then the effects of land use on the fractal and multifractal parameters were analyzed. The study was conducted on the loess hilly areas of the Loess Plateau in Nanxiaohegou basin of Gansu. Soil was sampled from 18 land use types. The soil PSDs were obtained by sieving and pipette methods. The result showed that: (1) the mass fractal dimension of soil particles was significant correlated with the soil mass clay content; （2）both the soil mass clay content and the mass fractal dimension of soil particles showed the same tendency of increasing with the soil layer， and the mass fractal dimension relates to the land uses and topographic feature. Thus they could be potential parameters to reflect soil physical properties influenced by land use. More significant result is required in the future study to test the applicability of fractal parameters in characterizing land use effect on soil particle-size distributions.