Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Characteristics and aggregate stability of soil particle size distribution under four forestland types in low mountains and hills of Southwest China 

Author(s):

Yuhe Wu, Hongjiang Zhang *, Wenxing Lv,  Jinhua Cheng *, Haiyan Wang

Recieved Date: 2012-09-22, Accepted Date: 2013-01-29

Abstract:

Soil erosion is a great threat to ecological security and economic development, as observed in the low mountains and hills of Southwest China. The effect of soil structure on soil erosion is significant, and a close relationship exists among soil texture, micro aggregates, macro aggregates, and soil erosion. The particle size distribution and aggregate stability of soil in low mountains and hills of Southwest China must be studied to prevent soil erosion. The current work focuses on forestlands in low mountains and hills of Southwest China. A total of 12 forestland plots in Simian Mountain, Chongqing, were selected in 2010 for the study. These plots were classified into four types, namely, Quercus aliena, Lithocarpus fangii, Cryptomeriafortunei, and Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. pubescens, and each type had three replications. The measurements of soil particle group parametersshowed that soil particles in P. heterocycla cv. pubescens forestland had the lowest dispersity, relatively high skewness, and the highest kurtosis, compared with the other three forestland types. The lowest and highest fractal dimensions of soil micro aggregates were in 40 to 60 cm of the soil in L. fangii forestland and in the topsoil (0 -20 cm) of the C. fortunei forestland, respectively. The fractal dimension of micro aggregates was positivelycorrelated with the percentage of micro aggregates <0.001 mm in size (D = 0.0609X₅+2.2711 (n = 36, R = 0.869)) and negatively correlated with the percentage of the micro aggregates 0.05-0.25 mm in size (D = -0.0072X₁+2.8824 (n = 36, R = 0.762)). Except for Q. aliena, the highest conservation probability of soil aggregate in the three other forest plots was observed in the aggregates 1-3 mm in size (L. fangii was 0.59, C. fortune 0.53 and P. heterocycla cv. pubescens 0.46). The aggregate stability indices in the two broad-leaved forests (Q. aliena and L. fangii) were higher than those of thetwo other forests (3.70 and 3.18 in the topsoil (0 -20 cm), 2.90 and 2.99 in 20-40 cm of the soil, and 2.94 and 3.10 in 40-60 cm of the soil). Effects of the size distribution characteristics and aggregate stability of soil on soil erosion were observed in all four forest plots, with the most significant effect observed in the two broad-leaved forests. Therefore, broad-leaved forests should be prioritized in the afforestation campaign in the study area.

Keywords:

Low mountains and hills of China, soil particle size distribution, fractal dimension, macro aggregate stability, soil erosion

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2013
Volume: 11
Issue: 1
Category: Environment
Pages: 850-857

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