Changes in soil physical and chemical properties during reversal of desertification in Yanchi County of Ningxia Hui autonomous region,China |
| |
| Authors: | Xiaohong Chen Zhenghu Duan |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Donggang West Road, 730000 Lanzhou, China |
| |
| Abstract: | Using field surveys and laboratory analysis, soil physical and chemical properties were studied at a site exhibiting the reversal
of desertification in Yanchi County of China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region. The dominant soil particle size changed from
coarse-fine sand to a combination of very fine sand and silt + clay, and corresponding levels of each soil nutrient increased.
The content of coarse-fine sand (2–0.1 mm) was significantly and negatively correlated with soil nutrient contents, whereas
nutrient contents were significantly and positively correlated with the contents of very fine sand (0.1–0.05 mm) and silt + clay
(<0.05 mm). The increasingly fine soil texture and the nutrient enrichment both facilitated rehabilitation of desertified
land. The silt + clay content contributed the most to the increasing soil nutrient contents, and thus appears to be the key
factor in reversal of desertification. Soil nutrient concentrations in the bulk soil increased with increasing content of
soil nutrients with different particle fractions, and there were significant positive correlations between them. The nutrients
in all particle size classes jointly decided the effect of soil nutrient contents on the reversal process. Principal-components
analysis (PCA) revealed that the soil quality tended to increase during the reversal process, and that nutrient factors were
more significant than particle size (i.e., were the dominant factor that influenced soil quality). Available nutrients and
soil organic matter (SOM) were the most important nutrient factors. Silt + clay were the most important particle factors. |
| |
| Keywords: | Desertification reversal Soil physical and chemical properties Yanchi County |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
