Soil Nutrient Characteristics of Phoebe zhennan Plantation at Regional Scale

Abstract

To analyze the effects of regions and age groups on soil properties of Phoebe zhennan plantation, the soil characteristics of P. zhennan plantation on regional scale were discussed from soil nutrients perspective, which could provide a basis for the accurate evaluation of sustainable forest management and site quality. Different regions and age groups of P. zhennan plantation in Sichuan province were selected as the research objects. The soil samples were collected by S-shaped sampling method and the nutrients were analyzed at two soil depths (0—20 cm and 20—40 cm). The general linear model, correlation analysis, principle components and other multivariate statistical methods were combined to explore the differences and relationships of soil nutrient factors of P. zhennan plantation in different regions and different age groups. The results showed that there were significantly differences of soil total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, calcium and magnesium contents in P. zhennan plantation in different areas of Sichuan (P<0.05), and there was no significantly difference in soil organic carbon. There was no significant difference in all nutrient factors among different age groups. With the increase of soil depth, the nutrient content represented a decreasing trend, and showed surface accumulation. There was a positive correlation between organic carbon and total nitrogen content, while other nutrient properties had no significant correlation. According to the results of principle components analysis, the top three comprehensive scores of soil nutrient of P. zhennan plantation were Yingjing county of Ya'an city, E’meishan of Leshan city, and Yucheng district of Ya'an city, respectively, Therefore, sustainable management of P. zhennan plantation should be carried out base on the characteristics of soil nutrients in different regions.