Arid Zone Research ›› 2019, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (3): 589-598.

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Soil Particle Size and Organic Matter Content of Different Land Use Types in the Mu Us Sandland

MAO Li1, SU Zhi-zhu2, WANG Guo-ling1, MA Yi-juan3, LI Xiang1   

  1. 1. College of Environmental and Resources Sciences,Shanxi University,Taiyuan 030006,Shanxi,China; 2. College of History and Culture,Shanxi University,Taiyuan 030006,Shanxi,China; 3. College of Geographical Science,Taiyuan Normal University,Jinzhong 030619,Shanxi,China

  • Received:2018-09-06 Revised:2019-01-28 Online:2019-05-15 Published:2019-05-15

Abstract:

In the Mu Us Sandland, the ecological environment is fragile, the soil wind erosion is serious, and the sandland is one of the key areas for desertification control in the sand source area of Beijing-Tianjin zone. In this paper, the soil granularity, organic matter content and their relationship under different land use patterns were studied so as to provide the basic data and the scientific basis for rational land use and desertification control. Through the field investigation in the Mu Us Sandland, the topsoil samples were collected from four land use types, i.e. the semi-fixed dune land, stubble land, ploughed land and grassland. The grain size and organic matter content of soil were analyzed, and the relationship between soil organic matter content and soil particle size distribution was discussed. The results showed that:   Silt (0.002-0.05 mm) was dominant in stubble land, ploughed land and grassland, and its content in topsoil was in an order of grassland (61.06%) > stubble land (53.09%) > ploughed land (48.28%), and that in sub-surface layer was in an order of grassland (61.25%) > ploughed land (49.43%) > stubble land (48.42%). Fine sand (0.1-0.25 mm) was dominant in semi-fixed dune land, its content was 52.69% in topsoil and 54.53% in sub-surface layer;   Soil organic matter content in topsoil was generally in an order of grassland (18.75 g·kg-1) > ploughed land (12.53 g·kg-1) > stubble land (11.25 g·kg-1) > semi-fixed dune land (8.13 g/kg), and that in sub-surface layer was in an order of grassland (13.36 g/kg) > stubble land (13.05 g·kg-1) > ploughed land (12.67 g·kg-1) > semi-fixed dune land (7.73 g·kg-1);   Correlation analysis of soil granularity and organic matter content showed that there was a significant positive correlation between organic matter content and silt content in stubble land and semi-fixed dune land, and a very significant positive correlation between organic matter content and moderate sand and fine sand in ploughed land, which revealed that the soil organic matter content in ploughed land was unstable and easily affected by other factors.


Key words: soil particle size, soil organic matter content, land use type, Mu Us Sandland