Abstract
Soil physical properties and soil organic carbon (SOC) are considered as important factors of soil quality. Arable land, grassland, and forest land coexist in the saline-alkali reclamation area of the Yellow River Delta (YRD), China. Such different land uses strongly influence the services of ecosystem to induce soil degradation and carbon loss. The objective of this study is to evaluate the variation of soil texture, aggregates stability, and soil carbon affected by land uses. For each land use unit, we collected soil samples from five replicated plots from “S” shape soil profiles to the depth of 50 cm (0–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–50 cm). The results showed that the grassland had the lowest overall sand content of 39.98–59.34% in the top 50 cm soil profile. The content of soil aggregates > 0.25 mm (R0.25), mean weight diameter and geometric mean diameter were significantly higher in grassland than those of the arable and forest land. R0.25, aggregate stability in arable land in the top 30 cm were higher than that of forest land, but lower in the soil profile below 20 cm, likely due to different root distribution and agricultural practices. The carbon management index (CMI) was considered as the most effective indicator of soil quality. The overall SOC content and CMI in arable land were almost the lowest among three land use types. In combination with SOC, CMI and soil physical properties, we argued that alfalfa grassland had the advantage to promote soil quality compared with arable land and forest land. This result shed light on the variations of soil properties influenced by land uses and the importance to conduct proper land use for the long-term sustainability of the saline-alkali reclamation region.
Highlights
Soil physical factors are known to affect soil organic carbon (SOC)
Some studies reported that variation in soil organic matter (SOM) content through different land uses would lead to a large modification in soil bulk density (BD), porosity, infiltration rate, aggregate stability and c ycling[23], and land use changes played a critical role in soil m oisture[31]
The objectives of this study were: (1) to assess the effect of different land uses on soil particle size and aggregate stability, (2) to determine the effect of land uses on soil carbon and (3) to provide insights into the coupling relationships between soil physical properties and soil carbon influenced by different land uses
Summary
Soil physical factors are known to affect SOC. Both aggregate stability and soil particle size are among the most important soil physical p roperties[15]. Some studies have examined the impacts of different land uses on SOC or soil physicochemical properties in the YRD, but few studies have provided a comprehensive (e.g., deep in the soil profile of 0–50 cm, high density of sampling etc.) understanding of soil physical properties, soil carbon and their relationship among different land uses Understanding these relationships in the saline-alkali reclamation region may be of particular importance for developing proper management practices for sustainable production. The objectives of this study were: (1) to assess the effect of different land uses on soil particle size and aggregate stability, (2) to determine the effect of land uses on soil carbon and (3) to provide insights into the coupling relationships between soil physical properties and soil carbon influenced by different land uses These results are expected to help improve the understanding to conduct proper land uses and agricultural management strategies for the long-term sustainability of the saline-alkali reclamation region
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