Soil-landscape relationships in a coastal archipelagic ecosystem

Abstract

The soil–landscape analyses in the archipelago ecosystem contribute to providing reference for maintaining the island ecosystem and revealing the intrinsic correlations between soil and landscape in the context of landscape ecology. A China's coastal archipelagic ecosystem, Dongtou Archipelago, was selected as the study area. The spatial distributions of terrain (bottom layer), soil (interface layer), and landscape (upper layer) at island and grid scales were analyzed. The soil was measured using salinity, carbon, and fertility; and the landscape was represented by considering landscape composition, configuration, and quality. Then, the mutual relationships between soil and landscape at the multiple scales were explored. Results indicated that soil and landscape showed distinct spatial heterogeneities at island and grid scales. The sandy island showed worse soil and landscape conditions than the rocky islands; within the islands, soil and landscape conditions were generally good in the western part of the sandy island and the vegetation areas of the rocky islands. Moreover, the soil and landscape conditions were sensitive to the scale changes. Close correlations were observed among terrain, soil, and landscape in the archipelago. The soil and landscape conditions were good in positions or islands with high altitude and slope; the landscape condition was generally good in positions or islands with high total organic carbon and low salinity and fertility; and the soil condition was good in positions or islands with appropriate landscape composition and good landscape quality. The relationship between soil and landscape denoted that between nature and humans in the coastal archipelagic ecosystem. In the current phase, humans dominate the nature, and the landscape dominates the soil. Landscape composition and quality rather than configuration determined the spatial pattern of soil quality, and implications for the island ecosystem-based management were then derived on the basis of the soil–landscape relationship.