Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Soil quality assessment of micro-landforms in the semi-arid region of the Loess Plateau, China

Author(s):

YaoJun Bo ^{1, 2}, QingKe Zhu ¹*, YaoXian Bao ³, Wei Jun Zhao ¹, LeiLei Zhao ⁴, HongZhi Zhang ⁵

Recieved Date: 2013-07-03, Accepted Date: 2013-09-28

Abstract:

In the Loess Plateau of China, soil erosion has led to severe soil quality degeneration and it is important to assess the soil quality of micro-landforms. This study analyzed the physicochemical and biological indicators for 93 soil samples collected from different micro-landforms (gently sloped terraces, gullies, collapses, furrows and scarps) and screened these indicators to assess the soil qualities of the different micro-landforms based on a factor analysis, fuzzy mathematics and multiple comparisons. The results showed that: (1) 12 indicators, i.e., the bulk weight, maximum water-holding capacity, capillary porosity, soil water content, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, pH, total phosphorus, total potassium, organic matter, sucrase and urease were appropriate for assessing the soil qualities of different micro-landforms and the soil quality indexes (SQI) calculated using them were highly representative (R² = 0.884); (2) the SQI calculated using the chosen were 74%, 16% and 10% for Grades III (0.4 - 0.6), VI (0.2 - 0.4) and II (0.6 - 0.8), respectively; (3) the SQI range was 0.368 - 0.672 (mean =  0.493) and the coefficient of variation was 15.90%, while the SQI differed significantly between the scarps, the gently sloped terraces, and gullies (p < 0.05), and the SQI of all the micro-landforms appeared to be at a moderate level overall. Compared with the SQI of the undisturbed slopes, the SQI of the gently sloped terraces, gullies, collapses and furrows were 19.05%, 17.10%, 8.44% and 5.63% higher, respectively, whereas the SQI of the scarps was 6.93% lower. Thus, the micro-landforms in the semiarid area of the Loess Plateau have moderate soil qualities overall and the gently sloped terraces, gullies, collapses and furrows had slightly better soil quality than the undisturbed slopes, which positively affected the vegetation restoration. The gently sloped terraces and gullies had the best soil qualities, which had a remarkably positively effect on vegetation restoration whereas the scarps had the poorest soil quality, which had a negatively effect on vegetation recovery. The study provides scientific references that facilitate micro-landform reforestation and a forest distribution optimization model for matching trees with micro-landforms.

Keywords:

Assessment indicators, biological property, catchment, physico-chemical property, vegetation restoration

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2013
Volume: 11
Issue: 3&4
Category: Environment
Pages: 2393-2398

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