Effects of land use intensity on soil nutrient distribution after reclamation in an estuary landscape

The effects of time on the evolution of land use intensity and soil nutrients distribution were studied in a reclamation zone of the Yangtze Estuary. Land use types were grouped into five intensity levels according to the extent of human disturbance. We used the “space for time substitution” method to test the impact of time on changes in land use intensity after reclamation and found that land use levels increased quickly within the first 35 years, then slowed. Soil salinity was relatively higher in aquaculture ponds than that in areas with other types of land cover due to the use of saline water from underground and the sea. Soil organic matter, available phosphorous and nitrate nitrogen were relatively high in agricultural fields, while nitrate nitrogen was highly variable in agricultural fields. The variations of all four soil properties in the built-up zone were much higher than those in the other land use groups. The spatial distribution of different nutrients is the combined effect of time and land use post reclamation. The results will provide a sound basis for future land use planning of newly reclaimed land, and for further studies on ecological consequences of salt marsh reclamation.