SOIL ORGANIC CARBON STOCK AND FRACTIONS IN RELATION TO LAND USE AND SOIL DEPTH IN THE DEGRADED SHIWALIKS HILLS OF LOWER HIMALAYAS

The proportional differences in soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions under different land uses are of significance for understanding the process of aggregation and soil carbon sequestration mechanisms. A study was conducted in a mixed vegetation cover watershed with forest, grass, cultivated and eroded lands in the degraded Shiwaliks of the lower Himalayas to assess land‐use effects on profile SOC distribution and storage and to quantify the SOC fractions in water‐stable aggregates (WSA) and bulk soils. The soil samples were collected from eroded, cultivated, forest and grassland soils for the analysis of SOC fractions and aggregate stability. The SOC in eroded surface soils was lower than in less disturbed grassland, cultivated and forest soils. The surface and subsurface soils of grassland and forest lands differentially contributed to the total profile carbon stock. The SOC stock in the 1.05‐m soil profile was highest (83.5 Mg ha⁻¹) under forest and lowest (55.6 Mg ha⁻¹) in eroded lands. The SOC stock in the surface (0–15 cm) soil constituted 6.95, 27.6, 27 and 42.4 per cent of the total stock in the 1.05‐m profile of eroded, cultivated, forest and grassland soils, respectively. The forest soils were found to sequester 22.4 Mg ha⁻¹ more SOC than the cultivated soils as measured in the 1.05‐m soil profiles. The differences in aggregate SOC content among the land uses were more conspicuous in bigger water‐stable macro‐aggregates (WSA > 2 mm) than in water‐stable micro‐aggregates (WSA < 0.25 mm). The SOC in micro‐aggregates (WSA < 0.25 mm) was found to be less vulnerable to changes in land use. The hot water soluble and labile carbon fractions were higher in the bulk soils of grasslands than in the individual aggregates, whereas particulate organic carbon was higher in the aggregates than in bulk soils. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil Structural Stability and Water Retention Characteristics Under Different Land uses of Degraded Lower Himalayas of North‐West India

The lower Himalayan regions of north‐west India experienced a severe land‐use change in the recent past. A study was thus conducted to assess the effect of grassland, forest, agricultural and eroded land uses on soil aggregation, bulk density, pore size distribution and water retention and transmission characteristics. The soil samples were analysed for aggregate stability by shaking under water and water drop stability by using single simulated raindrop technique. The water‐stable aggregates (WSA) >2 mm were highest (17·3 per cent) in the surface layers of grassland, whereas the micro‐aggregates (WSA < 0·25 mm) were highest in eroded soils. The water drop stability followed the similar trend. It decreased with the increase in aggregate size. Being lowest in eroded soils, the soil organic carbon also showed an adverse effect of past land‐use change. The bulk density was highest in eroded lands, being significantly higher for the individual aggregates than that of the bulk soils. The macroporosity (>150 µm) of eroded soils was significantly (p < 0·05) lower than that of grassland and forest soils. The grassland soils retained the highest amount of water. Significant (p < 0·05) effects of land use, soil depth and their interaction were observed in water retention at different soil water suctions. Eroded soils had significantly (p < 0·05) lower water retention than grassland and forest soils. The saturated hydraulic conductivity and maximum water‐holding capacity of eroded soils were sufficiently lower than those of forest and grassland soils. These indicated a degradation of soil physical attributes due to the conversion of natural ecosystems to farming system and increased erosion hazards in the lower Himalayan region of north‐west India. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of parent material and land use on soil erodibility

The objective of the present investigation was to find out the effect of different parent materials and land use on soil erodibility. Four types of parent materials such as andesite, basalt, alluvial, and gypsum, and three land use types such as grass, clover, and maize, all wide spread in Erzurum Province in Turkey, were tested. Aggregate stability and soil erodibility factors were determined. The susceptibility of soils against erosion decreased in the order of parent materials basalt > andesite > alluvial > gypsum. Likewise, the susceptibility of land use can be sorted as follows: grass > clover > maize.     

Land-use effects on organic matter and physical properties of soil in a southern Mediterranean highland of Turkey

Forest and grassland soils in highlands of southern Mediterranean Turkey are being seriously degraded and destructed due to extensive agricultural activities. This study investigated the effects of changes in land-use type on some soil properties in a Mediterranean plateau. Three adjacent land-use types included the cultivated lands, which have been converted from pastures for 12 years, fragmented forests, and unaltered pastures lands. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from four sites at each of the three different land-use types from depths of 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm in Typic Haploxeroll soils with an elevation of about 1400 m. When the pasture was converted into cultivation, soil organic matter (SOM) pool of cultivated lands for a depth of 0–20 cm were significantly reduced by, on average 49% relative to SOM content of the pasture lands. There was no significant difference in SOM between the depths in each land-use type, and SOM values of the forest and pasture lands were almost similar. There was also a significant change in soil bulk density (BD) among cultivation (1.33 Mg m⁻³), pasture (1.19 Mg m⁻³), and forest (1.25 Mg m⁻³) soils at depth of 0–20 cm. Only for the pasture, BD of the depth of 0–10 cm was significantly different from that of 10–20 cm. Depending upon the increases in BD and disruption of pores by cultivation, total porosity decreased accordingly. Cultivation of the unaltered pasture obviously increased the soil erodibility measured by USLE-K factor for each soil depth, and USLE-K factor was approximately two times greater in the cultivated land than in the pasture indicating the vulnerability of the cultivated land to water erosion. The mean weight diameter (MWD) and water-stable aggregation (WSA) were greater in the pasture and forest soils compared to the cultivated soils, and didn’t change with the depth for each land-use type. Aggregates of >4.0 mm size were dominant in the pasture and forest soils, whereas the cultivated soils comprised aggregates of the size ≤0.5 mm. I found that samples collected from cultivated land gave the lowest saturated hydraulic conductivity values regardless of soil depths, whereas the highest values were measured on samples from forest soils. In conclusion, the results showed that the cultivation of the pastures degraded the soil physical properties, leaving soils more susceptible to the erosion. This suggests that land disturbances should be strictly avoided in the pastures with the limited soil depth in the southern Mediterranean highlands.     

Restoration of surface soil fertility of an eroded red soil in southern China

To ameliorate degraded red soils and restore their productivity, it is necessary to quantitatively assess the effects of different land uses on soil fertility. In this study, surface soil samples (0–20 cm) under different land uses were collected from an 18-year ameliorative experiment site of a eroded red soil in Lanxi county, Zhejiang province of southern China. The status of surface soil fertility was quantified with a ryegrass growth test in the greenhouse and by numerical analysis of twelve important fertility indexes. The soil fertility indexes were grouped into three major factors using a factor analysis, i.e., organic matter-nitrogen-structure, acidity and phosphate. By means of principal component analysis and cluster analysis of these fertility factors, the fertility of the eroded red soil as a function of land use patterns had the following decreased order: vegetable land>paddy field, cropping arable land and ryegrass land>tea garden>citrus garden>forestland>wasteland. The result suggested that organic matter, total N, available N, and water-stable aggregates were the main characteristics for fertility restoration of the eroded red soil. Soil fertility was most rapidly restored where the soil had been used as vegetable land, and least restored when left as wasteland. The results indicated that land use strongly affected the fertility restoration of eroded red soils because of its effect on the input of nutrients and energy, thus determining the speed and direction of soil fertility evolution.     

Distribution of light and heavy fractions of soil organic carbon as related to land use and tillage practice

Mass distributions of different soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions are influenced by land use and management. Concentrations of C and N in light- and heavy fractions of bulk soils and aggregates in 0–20 cm were determined to evaluate the role of aggregation in SOC sequestration under conventional tillage (CT), no-till (NT), and forest treatments. Light- and heavy fractions of SOC were separated using 1.85 g mL⁻¹ sodium polytungstate solution. Soils under forest and NT preserved, respectively, 167% and 94% more light fraction than those under CT. The mass of light fraction decreased with an increase in soil depth, but significantly increased with an increase in aggregate size. C concentrations of light fraction in all aggregate classes were significantly higher under NT and forest than under CT. C concentrations in heavy fraction averaged 20, 10, and 8 g kg⁻¹ under forest, NT, and CT, respectively. Of the total SOC pool, heavy fraction C accounted for 76% in CT soils and 63% in forest and NT soils. These data suggest that there is a greater protection of SOC by aggregates in the light fraction of minimally disturbed soils than that of disturbed soil, and the SOC loss following conversion from forest to agriculture is attributed to reduction in C concentrations in both heavy and light fractions. In contrast, the SOC gain upon conversion from CT to NT is primarily attributed to an increase in C concentration in the light fraction.     

Shifting Cyanobacterial Diversity in Response to Agricultural Soils Associated with Dust Emission

Dust emission to the atmosphere from wind‐eroded soils has many environmental impacts, including soil degradation and air pollution. Various agricultural land uses alter the topsoil properties and thus affect dust particle characteristics as well as loading of biological components into the air. In the present work, the richness and abundance of bacterial communities in topsoils of semiarid loess that are associated with dust emissions were studied by high throughput sequencing methods and were found to be affected by land uses: conventional agriculture, organic agriculture alternating with grazing, uncontrolled grazing activities and natural nondisturbed soil. Moreover, bacterial diversity was shown to be influenced by the contents of sand, CaCO₃ and particulate matter in the topsoil. Of all bacteria taxa detected, cyanobacteria were found to be most strongly influenced by land use: Natural and grazing lands were highly abundant with cyanobacterial reads (about 33%), whereas conventional agriculture lands and organic agriculture lands alternating with grazing contained only 7% cyanobacteria. When examining macro‐aggregates in two soils (natural and grazing), approximately 44% of reads were found to be affiliated to cyanobacteria, whereas in micro‐aggregates, their concentration decreased to about 11%. Intensive agricultural use leads to a reduction in soil aggregation and significantly decreases cyanobacteria abundance, in turn increasing dust emission potential and loss of topsoil materials to the atmosphere. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

荒漠地区土地开垦对土壤团聚体稳定性及碳固定的影响

[目的]研究土地开垦前后土地利用方式对该地区土壤团聚体稳定性及有机碳的响应机制,为艾比湖湿地保护区的荒地开垦和植被恢复及农业生产提供科学理论依据。[方法]选取新疆艾比湖流域未开垦的天然林地(CK)和开垦后人工种植的枸杞地、葡萄地、棉花地、苜蓿地共5种不同土地利用类型下,探究荒漠生态系统土地开垦后的土壤结构和有机碳含量的变化规律。[结果]荒漠地区土地开垦对土壤团聚体稳定性及碳固定有显著的影响。土地开垦后,人工种植地块大团聚体(>0.25 mm)含量和团聚体稳定性均显著高于CK,其中棉花地力稳性大团聚体含量最高(>87%);枸杞地水稳性大团聚体含量最高(>79.7%),不同人工耕作模式均增加了大团聚体含量。0—30 cm土层人工种植地块不同团聚体粒级有机碳含量分别为5.91～15.46,5.50～10.70,8.12～16.11,6.90～13.67 g/kg,均显著高于CK(3.91～8.73 g/kg),主要分布在0.25～0.5 mm粒级,各人工土地利用方式下土壤团聚体有机碳含量均显著增加,且枸杞地有机碳含量增加最显著。[结论]该区域土地开垦后种植枸杞的耕作模式更有...     

湘东地区典型土壤团聚体稳定性的影响因素

[目的]揭示湘东地区土壤团聚体的分布规律及其影响稳定性因素,为研究南方土壤团聚体胶结机制提供一定的理论依据。[方法]在湘东地区选择3种常见成土母质(第四纪红土、花岗岩风化物、板岩风化物)上发育的典型自然林地、水田与旱地,采集表层土壤(0—20cm)与底层土壤(40—60cm),利用湿筛法测定土壤水稳性团聚体组成。[结果]土地利用方式、母质类型及土层部位显著影响土壤团聚体的组成及稳定性,且它们的交互作用也非常明显。不同利用方式下土壤团聚体稳定性总体表现为:水田林地旱地;但利用方式对团聚体稳定性的影响仅局限于表层土壤,同时在花岗岩风化物发育质地较砂的土壤上表现不明显。不同母质间土壤团聚体稳定性呈现出如下规律:第四纪红土板岩风化物花岗岩风化物,但表层土壤或旱地、林地利用下该规律不甚明显。同时,表层土壤团聚体稳定性一般要显著高于底层土壤,但对于第四纪红土发育质地较为黏重的土壤或水田利用方式下并非如此。[结论]成土母质、利用方式、土层部位通过对土壤质地、有机质、氧化物等的影响间接影响着湘东地区土壤团聚体的分布。     

岩溶坡地不同利用类型土壤入渗性能及其影响因素

为了探讨岩溶坡地不同土地利用类型土壤入渗性能差异及其影响因素,该文利用环刀法测定了不同利用类型石灰岩土壤的入渗过程曲线,并分析了孔隙状况、颗粒组成和土壤结构等对入渗的影响。结果表明：土地利用类型对岩溶坡地土壤入渗性能影响较大,初始入渗速率和稳定入渗速率均表现为灌丛＞果园＞草地＞旱地。灌丛地表下层（＞15～30 cm）平均稳定入渗速率8.11 mm/min,最小值4.22 mm/min;旱地地表下层平均稳定入渗速率0.46 mm/min,最小值仅0.13 mm/min。旱地表层以下存在显著的入渗阻滞层。岩溶坡地土壤入渗性能与有机质、水稳性团聚体和孔隙度有显著相关性。非毛管孔隙在入渗初期的作用大于后期,＞0.25 mm水稳性团聚体含量是影响稳定入渗速率的重要因素。该文为进一步研究岩溶坡地旱涝灾害、水土保持和水资源开发利用等提供了理论依据。     

Soil microaggregates stability under different land use types in southeastern Nigeria

Low water stability of soil microaggregates accentuated by increased intensity of cultivation, high soil erodibility and climatic erosivity has become a major cause of increased water erosion process on agricultural lands in Imo State, southeastern Nigeria. Consequently; it has remained one of the most serious soil physical constraints to increased and sustained high level crop production in the area. Thus, this study was conducted in 2006 to quantify the effects of different land use types (LUTs) on the water stability of their various soil microaggregates in the area. Six LUTs [natural forest (NF); oil palm plantation (OPP); plantain plantation (PP); rubber plantation (RP); bush fallow (BF) and continuous cassava cropping (CCC)] were chosen for the study. Under each LUT, traverses were cut at equal intervals to obtain three plots per LUT that served as replications. From each plot, bulk samples were collected from 15 sampling points at 0–20 cm soil depth for determination of aggregate stability and other soil properties. The soil microaggregate stability was measured by clay dispersion ratio (CDR) and aggregated silt and clay, ASC (%) indices. Results showed that the CDR obtained from soil under NF LUT was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower (implying higher microaggregate stability) than what were obtained from other LUT soils. Conversely, the CDR of soils under CCC was significantly higher (indicating lower microaggregate stability) than what were obtained under other LUT soils. The relative increase (%) in CDR or decrease in microaggregate stability over the control (NF soil) were 16.67, 54.76, 57.14 and 78.57 for soils under OP, PP, RP, BF and CCC LUTs respectively. Similarly, the ASC (%) under NF soil was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher (indicating higher microaggregate stability) than those of other LUT soils. Contrarily, the ASC (%) of CCC, soil was significantly lower (lower microaggregate stability) than other LUT soils. The relative reduction (%) in ASC or microaggregate stability of the soils over the control (NF soil) stood at 25.37, 44.03, 44.03, 44.03 and 62.69 for soils under OPP, PP, RP, BF and CCC LUTs respectively.     

Composition and stability of soil aggregates in Fluvisols under forest,meadows, and 100 years of conventional tillage

Conversion of meadow and forest ecosystems to agricultural land generally leads to changes in soil structure. This comparative study presents the composition and stability of structural aggregates in humus horizons (0–30 cm) of noncarbonate silty‐clay Fluvisols in the Kolubara River Valley, W Serbia. Aggregates collected from under a native forest were compared to aggregates from meadows and arable fields which underwent crop rotation for > 100 y. The results show that size distribution and stability of structural aggregates in the humus horizons of arable soil are significantly impaired due to long‐term anthropogenization. In the humus horizons, the content of the agronomically most valuable aggregates (0.25–10 mm) decreased by a factor of ≈ 2, from 68%–74% to 37%–39%, while the percentage of cloddy aggregates (>10 mm) increased by a factor of ≈ 2, from 23%–31% to 48%–62%, compared to forest aggregates. The long‐term‐arable soil had significantly (p < 0.05) lower aggregate stability, determined by wet sieving, than meadow and forest soils. The lowest aggregate stability was found in aggregates > 3 mm. Their content is ≈ 2.5–3 times lower in arable soil (13%–16%) than in forest soil (32%–42%) at a depth of 0–20 cm. The largest mean weight diameters of dry aggregates (dMWD) with a range between 12.6 and 14.7 mm were found in arable soil, vs. 9.5–9.9 mm in meadow and 6.5–8.3 mm in forest. The arable soil had significantly lower mean weight diameters of wet‐stable aggregates (wMWD) and a lower structure coefficient (Ks) than forest and meadow soils. The dispersion ratio (DR) of arable soil was significantly higher than that of forest and meadow soils. Forest and meadow showed a significantly higher soil organic‐matter content (SOM) by 74% and 39%, respectively, compared with arable soil, while meadow uses decreased the SOM content by 57% compared with forest at a depth of 0–10 cm. In conclusion, the results showed that long‐term conventional tillage of soils from natural forest and meadow in the lowland ecosystems of W Serbia degraded soil aggregate–size distribution and stability and reduced SOM content, probably resulting in lower productivity and reduced crop yields.     

Landscape analysis of dynamic soil erosion in Subtropical China: A case study in Xingguo County, Jiangxi Province

As a case study on landscape pattern analysis of soil erosion change, Xingguo County in Jiangxi Province, China, was once one of the most severely eroded regions in Subtropical China. However, its soil erosion has been completely controlled in recent years. This county was historically full of forest as well as waterways that were well protected and soil erosion was seldom seen even by the mid-19th century. However, large areas of forest were destroyed after that period due to over-logging, which resulted in excessive erosion, bare hills, and mountains devoid of vegetation. Fortunately, soil erosion in Xingguo has been controlled gradually since 1982 after the county was appointed as 1 of the 8 Key National Level Erosion Control Regions. In this study, a raster (grid) soil erosion map was collected on the basis of soil erosion intensity maps from 1958, 1975, 1982 and 2000 with the aid of GIS software (ARC/INFO). Over 10 landscape indices were calculated using FRAGSTATS software for landscape pattern analysis. A set of free spatial statistics that address a fundamental problem in GIS, and soil erosion distribution patterns and their changes in the county were quantitatively analyzed at the landscape and class levels, respectively. Moreover, transformations of soil erosion types from 1958 to 1975, 1975 to 1982, and 1982 to 2000 were also calculated using the CROSSTAB module in IDRISI software. Results showed that at the landscape level, heterogeneity of soil erosion decreased. This was supported by decreasing tendencies of patch indices SHDI (Shannon’s diversity index), SHEI (Shannon’s evenness index), and IJI (Interspersion and juxtaposition index). This indicates that most of the severely eroded soil types were transformed into non-apparently eroded or slightly eroded types. Meanwhile, at the class level, a consistent pattern was found where the surface areas of non-apparently eroded or slightly eroded lands increased, and moderately, severely, very severely and extremely eroded lands deceased. In general, soil erosion in Xingguo County experienced three pronounced phases during the study periods: the exacerbation phase (1958–1975), the alleviation phase (1975–1982), and the overall alleviation phase (1982–2000). By the year 2000, 74.6% of total territory of this county was covered by land with no significant soil loss, indicating that severe soil erosion had been substantially controlled.     

The effect of tropical forest conversion on soil microbial biomass

We investigated the effects of converting forest to savanna and plough land on the microbial biomass in tropical soils of India. Conversion of the forest led to a significant reduction in soil organic C (40–46%), total N (47–53%), and microbial biomass C (52–58%) in the savanna and the plough land. Among forest, savanna, and plough land, basal soil respiration was maximum in the forest, but the microbial metabolic quotient (qCO₂ was estimated to be at a minimum in the forest and at a maximum in the plough land.     

不同土地利用方式对岷江流域土壤团聚体稳定性及有机碳的影响

采用湿筛法测量了岷江流域不同土地利用方式下不同土层（0—10,10—20,20—30 cm）土壤大团聚体（> 2 mm）、中间团聚体（0.25~2 mm）、微团聚体（53 μm~0.25 mm）以及粉+黏团聚体（<53 μm）的质量分数及各粒径团聚体中的有机碳含量,并探讨了各粒径土壤团聚体的有机碳储量。结果表明,土地利用方式对土壤团聚体稳定性及其有机碳具有重要影响;土壤养分均呈现出一致性规律,大致表现为撂荒地 > 次生林 > 人工林 > 灌草丛 > 坡耕地,土壤全磷差异并不显著（p>0.05）;林地的开垦行为会导致大团聚体的破碎化,灌草丛及坡耕地>0.25 mm的大团聚体含量较林地低,土壤结构趋于恶化;而坡耕地闲置为撂荒地后,则会促使粉+黏团聚体向粒径大的微团聚体及中间团聚体转化,使土壤结构趋于改善,在0—30 cm土层内,灌草丛及坡耕地土壤颗粒的MWD（平均质量直径）和GMD（几何平均直径）值均显著低于林地和撂荒地（p<0.05）,坡耕地撂荒后,MWD和GMD值均显著升高（p<0.05）,表明林地开垦为坡耕地导致土壤团聚体的稳定性降低,而坡耕地弃耕撂荒会增强团聚体的稳定性,提高土壤抵抗外力破坏的能力。不同土地利用方式下各粒径土壤团聚体有机碳含量均随土层深度的增加而降低。在0—30 cm土层深度内,不同土地利用方式下各粒径土壤团聚体有机碳储量表现为:大团聚体有机碳储量为林地 > 撂荒地 > 灌草丛 > 坡耕地,中间团聚体有机碳储量为撂荒地 > 林地 > 灌草丛 > 坡耕地,微团聚体有机碳储量为撂荒地 > 林地 > 灌草丛 > 坡耕地;粉+黏团聚体有机碳储量为撂荒地 > 林地 > 灌草丛 > 坡耕地。各粒径土壤团聚体内有机碳储量均为林地和撂荒地高于果园和坡耕地,表明将林地开垦为坡耕地后,将导致各团聚体组分内有机碳的损失,而坡耕地撂荒则有助于土壤有机碳的恢复和截存;林地和撂荒地土壤有机碳主要蓄积在中间团聚体内,而坡耕地则主要蓄积在粉+黏团聚体内,表明在土地利用变化过程中,粒径较大的团聚体有机碳不稳定,更容易发生变化。     

粤西坡地土壤侵蚀特征及退化分析——以广东省郁南县大湾镇为例

坡地是广东省重要的土地资源,也是水土流失的策源地。研究坡地的土壤侵蚀及退化问题,对于坡地的可持续利用具有重要的意义。本文以广东省郁南县大湾镇为例,探讨了粤西典型坡地不同侵蚀区的侵蚀形态特征,以及土壤侵蚀所导致的坡地退化,分析了影响土壤退化的原因,并提出了退化坡地的整治措施。研究区以花岗岩发育的弱侵蚀强度为主,占总侵蚀面...     

中国亚热带红壤团聚体稳定性与土壤化学性质的关系

The stability of aggregates in the surface soil is crucial to soil erosion and runoff generation. Thus, to understand the stability and the breakdown mechanisms of soil aggregates as well as the relationship between aggregate stability and selected soil chemical properties, such as different forms of Fe and Al oxides, organic matter, CEC and clay content, the aggregates of slightly and severely eroded red soils derived from Quaternary red clay in subtropical China were analyzed using the routine wet sieving and the Le Bissonnais methods. The results indicated that the aggregates of the severely eroded soils were more stable than those of the slightly eroded soils. Different aggregate breakdown mechanisms resulted in different particle size distribution. The slaking from entrapped air in aggregates severely destroyed the soil aggregates, especially in the slightly eroded soils. Meanwhile, mechanical breakdown and microcracking had little effect on the aggregates compared to slaking. The fragments resulting from slaking were mainly microaggregates that increased in size with increasing clay content. The main fragment size of the slightly eroded soils was 1.0-0.2 mm, while for the severely eroded soils it was 5.0-2.0 mm and 1.0-0.5 mm. Overall, more than 20% of the fragments were smaller than 0.2 mm. In addition, aggregate stability was positively and often significantly correlated with Fe_d, Al_d, Fe_o and clay content, but significantly and negatively correlated to SOC.     

严重退化红壤植被恢复后有机质富集和团聚体稳定性

Three types of soils： an eroded barren soil under continuous fallow, an eroded soil transplanted with Lespedeza shrubs （Lespedeza bieolor）, and an eroded soil transplanted with camphor tree （Cinnaraomum camphora） were investigated to quantify organic matter pools and aggregates in reforested soils using physical fractionation techniques and to determine aggregate stability in relation to the enrichment of soil organic carbon （SOC）. Soil organic matter （SOM） was physically fractionalized into free particulate organic matter （fPOM）, occluded particulate organic matter （oPOM）, and mineralassociated organic matter （mOM）. The SOM was concentrated on the surface soil （0 5 cm）, with an average C sequestration rate of 20-25 g C m^-2 year^-1 over 14 years. As compared to the eroded barren land, organic C content of fPOM, oPOM, and mOM fractions of the soil under Lespedeza and under camphor tree increased 12-15, 45-54, and 3.1-3.5 times, respectively. A linear relationship was found between aggregate stability and organic C （r^2 = 0.45, P 〈 0.01）, oPOM （r^2 = 0.34, P 〈 0.05）, and roOM （r^2 = 0.46, P 〈 0.01） of aggregates. The enrichment of organic C improved aggregate stability of the soil under Lespedeza but not that under camphor tree. However, further research is needed on the physical and biological processes involved in the interaction of soil aggregation and SOC sequestration in ecosystem.     

Characterization of Degraded Soils in the Humid Ethiopian Highlands

Hardpan is a major cause of land degradation that affects agricultural productivity in developing countries. However, relatively, little is known about the interaction of land degradation and hardpans. The objective of this study was, therefore, to investigate soil degradation and the formation of hardpans in crop/livestock‐mixed rainfed agriculture systems and to assess how changes in soil properties are related to the conversion of land from forest to agriculture. Two watersheds (Anjeni and Debre Mewi) were selected in the humid Ethiopian highlands. For both watersheds, 0–45 cm soil penetration resistance (SPR, n  = 180) and soil physical properties (particle size, soil organic matter, pH, base ions, cation exchange capacity, silica content, bulk density and moisture content) were determined at 15 cm depth increments for three land uses: cultivated, pasture and forest. SPR of agricultural fields was significantly greater than that of forest lands. Dense layers with a critical SPR threshold of ≥2000 kPa were observed in the cultivated and pasture lands starting at a depth of 15–30 cm but did not occur in the undisturbed forest land. Compared with the original forest soils, agricultural fields were lower in organic matter, cation exchange capacity, and exchangeable base cations; more acidic; had a higher bulk density and more fine particles (clay and silt); and contained less soluble silica. Overall, our findings suggest that soil physical and chemical properties in agricultural lands are deteriorated, causing disintegration of soil aggregates, resulting in greater sediment concentration in infiltration water that clogged up macro‐pores, thereby disconnecting deep flow paths found in original forest soils. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同植被恢复模式对红砂岩土壤化学性质及抗蚀特征的影响

通过对不同恢复年限及恢复类型(2a人工恢复湿地松林、5a人工恢复湿地松林、5a自然恢复湿地松林、5a自然恢复荒地和6a种植杨梅园空地)0～30cm红砂岩发育土壤团聚体中有机碳、全磷、全氮分布规律、化学计量比及其与土壤抗蚀性的相关性进行分析,旨在探究红砂岩侵蚀劣地植被恢复过程中土壤养分变化及抗蚀性。结果表明:红砂岩纯裸地土壤养分含量较低,经过不同措施恢复后,土壤理化性质有不同程度的改善。不同类型红砂岩土壤团聚体级配不同。裸地以5 mm粒径团聚体为主,约占60%以上。除自然恢复5a荒地以2～5 mm团聚体为主以外,其余恢复措施的红砂岩土壤均以小于0.25mm粒径微团聚体为主。不同粒径土壤团聚体有机碳、全氮含量均随恢复年限增长呈增加趋势。C、N集中分布在0.25～1 mm团聚体上,尤其是0.5～1 mm团聚体;P则分布较为均匀。采取不同恢复措施后土壤抗蚀性有不同程度的提高,其中结构体破坏率从55.68%降至10%以下。研究区土壤C:N均值为15.0:1;C:P均值为79.7:1;N:P均值为4.0:1。由此可知不同红砂岩发育土壤随着恢复年限而增长,抗蚀性能大幅提升,由于养分主要分布在0.5～5 mm土壤水稳性的团聚体上,而该部分团聚体流失严重,导致土壤养分含量低、土壤抗蚀性差,恢复过程较为困难。