Arid Zone Research ›› 2025, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 646-657.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2025.04.07

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Patterns of soil phosphorous fractions across a chronosequence of Robinia pseudoacacia plantations in the loess region of western Shanxi Province

LU Shanhong1(), BI Huaxing1,2,3,4(), ZHAO Danyang1, GUAN Ning1, HAN Jindan1   

  1. 1. College of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Beijing 100083, China
    3. Ji County Station, Chinese National Ecosystem Research Network (CNERN), Beijing 100083, China
    4. Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration On Soil and Water Conservation/Beijing Engineering Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation/Engineering Research Center of Forestry Ecological Engineering. Ministry of Education (Beijing Forestry University), Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2024-11-10 Revised:2025-03-05 Online:2025-04-15 Published:2025-04-10
  • Contact: BI Huaxing E-mail:lushanhong@bjfu.edu.cn;bhx@bjfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

This study examines Robinia pseudoacacia plantations of different stand ages (18, 22, 26, 30, 33, and 40 years) in the Caijiachuan watershed of Jixian County, located in the Loess Plateau region of western Shanxi. Using the Hedley phosphorous fractionation method, we investigated the distribution patterns of soil phosphorous fractions (H2O-P, NaHCO3-P, NaOH-P, D.HCl-P, C.HCl-P, and Residual-P) in the 0-100 cm soil layer across different stand ages. This study clarifies how soil phosphorous fractions change with stand age and explores the influence of soil physicochemical properties on these changes. The results showed that the average total phosphorous content at 0-100 cm soil depth followed this trend: 30 a (590.44 mg·kg-1)>26 a (571.68 mg·kg-1)>22 a (527.05 mg·kg-1)>18 a (517.83 mg·kg-1)>33 a (490.71 mg·kg-1)>40 a (464.49 mg·kg-1). The distribution of phosphorous fractions in the soil followed the order: stable phosphorous>residual phosphorous>moderately active phosphorous>active phosphorous. Each phosphorous fraction initially increased and then decreased with stand age, peaking in the 30-year-old plantation. Additionally, as the soil depth increased, both total phosphorous and phosphorous fractions decreased. Redundancy analysis revealed that soil total nitrogen content and soil pH were the primary factors influencing the phosphorous fraction variations. These findings suggest that in the early stages of afforestation, soil phosphorous fractions gradually accumulate in R. pseudoacacia plantations, peaking at middle stand ages. However, as the stand age increases, phosphorous limitation becomes more pronounced, leading to a gradual decline in phosphorous fractions after maturing. Therefore, from the perspective of phosphorous limitation, appropriate phosphorous fertilization at around 30 years of age can effectively mitigate phosphorous deficiency in mature R. pseudoacacia plantations in the Loess Plateau region of western Shanxi Province.

Key words: soil phosphorous fractions, forest soil, Robinia pseudoacacia, loess region of western Shanxi Province