Impact of Land Use and Soil Fertility on Distributions of Soil Aggregate Fractions and Some Nutrients

Abstract

The size distribution of water-stable aggregates and the variability of organic C, N and P contents over aggregate size fractions were studied for orchard, upland, paddy, and grassland soils with high, medium, and low fertility levels. The results showed that > 5 mm aggregates in the cultivated upland and paddy soils were 44.0% and 32.0%, respectively, less than those in the un-tilled orchard soil. Organic C and soil N in different size aggregate fractions in orchard soil with high fertility were significantly higher than those of other land uses. However, the contents of soil P in different size aggregates were significantly greater in the paddy soil as compared to the other land uses. Soil organic C, N and P contents were higher in larger aggregates than those in smaller ones. The amount of water-stable aggregates was positively correlated to their contribution to soil organic C, N and P. For orchard and grassland soils, the > 5 mm aggregates made the greatest contribution to soil nutrients, while for upland soil, the 0.25-0.053 mm aggregates contributed the most to soil nutrients. Therefore, the land use with minimum disturbance was beneficial for the formation of a better soil structure. The dominant soil aggregates in different land use types determined the distribution of soil nutrients. Utilization efficiency of soil P could be improved by converting other land uses to the paddy soil.