Pedosphere 14(1): 17--26, 2004
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2004 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Degradation of soil properties due to erosion on sloping land in southern Jiangsu Province, China |
| ZHANG Yan1, PENG Bu-Zhuo2, GAO Xiang2 and YANG Hao1 |
1 LMCP Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China). E-mail: tlc02cn@yahoo.com.cn;
2 Department of Urban and Resources Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Soil erosion accelerates soil degradation. Some natural soils and cultivated soils on sloping land in southern Jiangsu Province, China were chosen to study soil degradation associated with erosion. Soil erosion intensity was investigated using the 137Cs tracer method. Soil particle-size distribution, soil organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) were measured, and the effects of erosion on soil physical and chemical properties were analyzed statistically using SYSTAT8.0. Results indicated that erosion intensity of cultivated soils was greater than that of the natural soils, suggesting that cultivation increased soil loss. Erosion also led to an increase of coarser soil particle proportion, especially in natural soils. In addition, silt was the primary soil particle lost due to erosion. However, in cultivated fields, coarser soil particles over time were attributed not only to soil erosion but also to mechanical eluviation as a result of farming activities. Moreover, erosion caused a decrease in soil OM, TN and TP as well as thinning of the soil layer. |
| Key Words: 137Cs, coarser soils, nutrients, soil degradation, soil layer |
| Citation: Zhang, Y., Peng, B. Z., Gao, X. and Yang, H. 2004. Degradation of soil properties due to erosion on sloping land in southern Jiangsu Province, China. Pedosphere. 14(1): 17-26. |
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