Arid Zone Research ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 1346-1354.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2021.05.16

• Soil Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Soil carbon and nitrogen content and path analysis under different land use patterns on the southern slope of Qilian Mountains

DIAO Erlong1,2,3(),CAO Guangchao2,3(),CAO Shengkui1,2,3,YUAN Jie1,2,3,YU Min1,2,3,CHEN Zhen1,2,3,ZHANG Zhuo,TONG Shan1,2,3,ZHAO Meiliang1,2,3   

  1. 1. School of Geographical Science of Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, Qinghai, China
    2. MOE Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation, Xining 810008, Qinghai, China
    3. Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, Xining 810008, Qinghai, China
  • Received:2021-03-25 Revised:2021-06-23 Online:2021-09-15 Published:2021-09-24
  • Contact: Guangchao CAO E-mail:1530875132@qq.com;Caoguangchao@126.com

Abstract:

Taking the soils under four different land use types on the southern slope of Qilian Mountain as the research object, we used field sampling, laboratory analysis, and one-way ANOVA to analyze the TC and TN contents in surface (0-20 cm) and deep (20-50 cm) layers of soil. A path analysis method was used to reveal the direct and indirect effects of environmental factors on soil TC and TN. The results were as follows. (1) As a direct effect, the soil carbon and nitrogen interaction was significant, but pH had little direct effect on soil carbon and nitrogen content. As an indirect effect, soil water content had a positive effect on TC content in surface soil mainly through TN, whereas pH had an indirect negative effect on TC content in deep soil mainly through TN. Temperature had an indirect negative effect on soil TN content mainly through precipitation, whereas bulk density had an indirect negative effect on soil TN content mainly through TC. (2) Soil carbon and nitrogen content showed obvious “surface polymerization.” The content of soil carbon and nitrogen decreased as soil depth increased. The carbon and nitrogen content of forest soil was the highest; these contents were significantly higher than those found in soil from grassland and cultivated land(P<0.05) but were not significantly different from the contents in shrub soil(P<0.05). The soil nitrogen content in the study area was higher than the national soil nitrogen content grading standard, which could provide sufficient nitrogen nutrient elements for the growth of vegetation in this area. (3) Soil carbon and nitrogen content was affected by the natural environment and human activities. Although this study focused on the effects of natural environmental factors on soil carbon and nitrogen content, the effects of human activities on these contents were not considered; thus, the impact of human activities should be further analyzed future research.

Key words: the southern slope of Qilian Mountain, land use type, soil total carbon, soil total nitrogen, path analysis