Arid Zone Research ›› 2022, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (4): 1322-1332.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2022.04.32

• Agricultural Ecology • Previous Articles    

Distribution characteristics of soil particle size in farming-pastoral ecotone: A case study of Wuchuan County in Inner Mongolia

FU Dongsheng1(),REN Xiaomeng2,WANG Yanling3,ZHANG Cuiying4,MENG Zhongju1()   

  1. 1. College of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, Inner Mongolia, China
    2. Inner Mongolia Meteorological Institute, Hohhot 010051, Inner Mongolia, China
    3. Water Conservancy Development Center, Xilin Gol League Water Conservancy Bureau, Xilinhot 026099, Inner Mongolia, China
    4. Jishengtai Town, Siziwang Banner, Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia, Ulanqab City, Ulanqab 011826, Inner Mongolia, China
  • Received:2021-09-23 Revised:2021-11-25 Online:2022-07-15 Published:2022-09-26
  • Contact: Zhongju MENG E-mail:1145058064@qq.com;mengzhongju@126.com

Abstract:

This paper takes different farmland and natural grassland in Wuchuan County, Hohhot, as the research object and adopts the method of combining in-situ field monitoring and indoor test to study the following four types of farmland soils: typical wheat stubble land, sunflower stubble land, plowed land, and abandoned farmland. The wind erosion resistance capability of land under different utilization modes is discussed by analyzing the average particle size, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. Research results show the following: (1) The soil in the study area is dominated by fine sand, very fine sand, and silt, accounting for 80% to 85%. (2) The soil particle size composition from fine to coarse is as follows: tillage 1 a > natural grassland > tillage slope > wheat stubble > tillage 15 a > abandoned 5 a > sunflower stubble. Meanwhile, the average particle size of sand is 2.12-2.61. (3) The soil sorting capability of each layer is poor, the skewness is positive and nearly symmetrical, and the kurtosis belongs to the broad flat. The particle size range of soil that is prone to wind erosion is between 200 and 400 μm. (4) Compared with natural grassland, farmland reclamation and utilization lead to the expansion of soil particle size distribution, and the overall particle size is coarse.

Key words: farming-pastoral ecotone, farmland, soil particle size, farming methods, Wuchuan County