Spatial Patterns and Drivers of Soil Chemical Properties in a Typical Hickory Plantation

Author(s):  
Mengjiao Sun ◽  
Enqing Hou ◽  
Jiasen Wu ◽  
Jianqin Huang ◽  
Xingzhao Huang

Abstract Background: Soil nutrients play critical roles in regulating and improving the sustainable development of economic forests. Consequently, an elucidation of the spatial patterns and drivers of soil nutrients in these forests is fundamental to their management. For this study, we collected 314 composite soils at a 0-30 cm depth from a typical hickory plantation in Lin 'an, Zhejiang Province, China. We determined the concentrations of macronutrients (i.e., soil organic carbon, hydrolyzed nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium) and micronutrients (i.e., iron, manganese, zinc, and copper.) of the soils. We employed random forest analysis to quantify the relative importance of soil-forming factors to predict the soil nutrient concentrations, which could then be extrapolated to the entire hickory region. Results: Random forest models explained 61%–88% of the variations in soil nutrient concentrations. The mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation were the most important predictor of soil macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations. Moreover, parent material was another key predictor of soil available phosphorus and micronutrient concentrations. Mapping results demonstrated the importance of climate in controlling the spatial distribution of soil nutrient concentrations at finer scales, as well as the effect of parent material, topography, stand structure, and management measures of hickory plantations. Conclusions: Our study highlights the biotic factors, abiotic factors, and management factors control over soil macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations, which have significant implications for the sustainability of soil nutrients in forest plantations.

Author(s):  
MS Islam ◽  
T Nusrat ◽  
MR Jamil ◽  
F Yesmin ◽  
MH Kabir ◽  
...  

The study investigated on soil nutrients in agriculture practiced high, medium high, medium low and low land at Kalihati upazila of Tangail district during October 2017 to June 2018. Thirty soil samples were collected from different land types at the study area and analyzed at Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) to determine soil nutrient status. The soil parameters under investigation included pH, organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P), available zinc (Zn), available iron (Fe), available manganese (Mn), available boron (B), exchangeable potassium (K), exchangeable calcium (Ca) and exchangeable magnesium (Mg). Results indicated that many of the soil nutrient levels decreased such as pH (5.63 to 6.40), P (3.50 to 23.20 μg g-1), Zn (3.27 to 3.60 μg g-1), Mn (21.12 to 57.90 μg g-1), B (0.17 to 0.60 μg g-1), K (0.18 to 0.30 meq 100g-1) and Ca (5.75 to 9.10 meq 100g-1). On the contrary, the average content of OM (2.30 to 1.40%), Fe (248.22 to 161.10 μg g-1) and Mg (2.07 to 1.80 meq 100g-1) were increased. Total N content status did not change much (0.12%). Soil nutrients like those that available Zn, Fe, Mn and Mg contents were found above optimum level (very high) but OM and N status found below optimum level (low, very low and medium). Nutrient concentrations below optimum levels may limit crop yield. Updated knowledge about soil nutrient status needs to be provided for the farmers so that they can use necessary amount of fertilizers and avoid applying excess amount of fertilizers. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(2): 84-90, December 2020


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafeng Zhang ◽  
Xinping Wang ◽  
Yanxia Pan ◽  
Rui Hu

<p>Stemflow production has been reported to be influenced by a suite of biotic and abiotic factors, and those factors would be quite different considering local and global scales. Although the number of published stemflow studies showed a steady increasing trend in recent years, the relative contributions of biotic and abiotic factors to stemflow production were still largely unclear due to the large number of influencing factors and the complex interactions among those factors. Here we present stemflow results conducted from both from local scale and global scale: (1) stemflow of nine xerophytic shrubs of Caragana korshinskii were measured in nearly nine growing seasons from 2010 to 2018 within a desert area of northern China, accompanying with observing on six biotic variables (shrub morphological attributes) and ten abiotic variables (meteorological conditions); (2) a global synthesis of stemflow production results (stemflow percentage was reported) derived from Web of Science for more than 200 peer-reviewed papers published in the last 50 years (1970-2019), and ten most reported biotic factors (vegetation life form, phenology, leaf form, bark form, community density, community age, vegetation height, diameter at breast height, leaf area index, stemflow measuring scale) and four abiotic factors (climate types, mean annual precipitation, elevation, mean annual temperature) were considered. We performed a machine learning method (boosted regression trees) to evaluate the relative contribution of each biotic and abiotic factor to stemflow percentage, and partial dependence plots were presented to visualize the effects of individual explanatory variables on stemflow percentage, respectively.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 969-976
Author(s):  
Lirong He ◽  
Yuhu Luo

The soil nutrient characteristics under three vegetation types of arbor ( I ), shrub ( II ) and herb ( III ) were studied by mathematical statistics method combined with field investigation and indoor detection analysis. The change characteristics of soil nutrients under different land use patterns were discussed. The results showed that the average contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium were 21.30 and 0.65 g/kg, 3.67 and 67.61 mg/kg, respectively. Compared with grassland, woodland has better effect on fertilizer conservation in the Loess Plateau. In the process of soil nutrient improvement, the nutrient indexes such as organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium increased synchronously, and the soil alkaline environment that was not conducive to plant growth was also gradually improved. In the correlation between soil nutrients, available phosphorus and available potassium have good relative independence. In the future, organic fertilizer should be applied in this area, and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers should be supplemented to improve soil organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus content, and to ensure soil nutrient balance by optimizing fertilization methods. In addition, in the case of uneven distribution of soil nutrients in the soil profile, it is recommended to take appropriate soil ploughing and reasonable human management measures to improve soil nutrient status, achieve high-quality sustainable development of soil, and promote the positive succession of vegetation communities. Bangladesh J. Bot. 50(3): 969-976, 2021 (September) Special


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 881
Author(s):  
Taimoor Hassan Farooq ◽  
Uttam Kumar ◽  
Jing Mo ◽  
Awais Shakoor ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
...  

Intercropping is one of the most widely used agroforestry techniques, reducing the harmful impacts of external inputs such as fertilizers. It also controls soil erosion, increases soil nutrients availability, and reduces weed growth. In this study, the intercropping of peanut (Arachishypogaea L.) was done with tea plants (Camellia oleifera), and it was compared with the mono-cropping of tea and peanut. Soil health and fertility were examined by analyzing the variability in soil enzymatic activity and soil nutrients availability at different soil depths (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, and 30–40 cm). Results showed that the peanut–tea intercropping considerably impacted the soil organic carbon (SOC), soil nutrient availability, and soil enzymatic responses at different soil depths. The activity of protease, sucrase, and acid phosphatase was higher in intercropping, while the activity of urease and catalase was higher in peanut monoculture. In intercropping, total phosphorus (TP) was 14.2%, 34.2%, 77.7%, 61.9%; total potassium (TK) was 13.4%, 20%, 27.4%, 20%; available phosphorus (AP) was 52.9%, 26.56%, 61.1%; 146.15% and available potassium (AK) was 11.1%, 43.06%, 46.79% higher than the mono-cropping of tea in respective soil layers. Additionally, available nitrogen (AN) was 51.78%, 5.92%, and 15.32% lower in the 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, and 30–40 cm layers of the intercropping system than in the mono-cropping system of peanut. Moreover, the soil enzymatic activity was significantly correlated with SOC and total nitrogen (TN) content across all soil depths and cropping systems. The depth and path analysis effect revealed that SOC directly affected sucrase, protease, urease, and catalase enzymes in an intercropping system. It was concluded that an increase in the soil enzymatic activity in the intercropping pattern improved the reaction rate at which organic matter decomposed and released nutrients into the soil environment. Enzyme activity in the decomposition process plays a vital role in forest soil morphology and function. For efficient land use in the cropping system, it is necessary to develop coherent agroforestry practices. The results in this study revealed that intercropping certainly enhance soil nutrients status and positively impacts soil conservation.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 541
Author(s):  
Pranjal Dwivedi ◽  
Eric Sucre ◽  
Eric C. Turnblom ◽  
Robert B. Harrison

Stem sinuosity is a deformation that occurs in Douglas-fir and other tree species. Nutritional deficiencies, such as those of copper, zinc, boron, and calcium have been positively associated with increased stem form deformities. The objective of this study was to analyze available soil and total foliar concentrations of sinuous Douglas-fir stands and determine if these data provided insights into the role of nutrients on sinuosity across different sites. Relationships among genetic gain levels across different sites were also assessed to evaluate whether trees selected for growth and form were better at mobilizing and sequestering nutrients in soils or needles. As data collected were multivariate, Mantel test and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) were used to study effects of site, genetic gain levels on soil, and foliar nutrients, with ordinations used to visualize trends. The stands were found to be deficient in boron and calcium, and moderately deficient with respect to zinc and nitrogen. Combining foliar data with soil nutrients revealed that there was differential uptake of these nutrients as compared to other more abundant micronutrients. Results of univariate and multivariate analyses showed that site was the most important predictor, which explained variation among soil nutrient concentrations. Genetic gain level was a significant predictor for variation among soil nutrients; however, not significantly for foliar concentrations according to multivariate analyses. Trends in the data indicate that proper genetic selection could reduce sinuosity while also increasing growth. The results of this study support the contention that no one single factor can explain stem sinuosity. It is likely that sinuous growth in trees is caused by a combination of unbalanced nutrient concentrations and metal deficiencies, as were seen in this study, in addition to genetic, environmental, and physiological factors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kübler ◽  
S. Rucina ◽  
D. Aßbichler ◽  
E. Eckmeier ◽  
G. King

Tectonically active regions are characterized by complex landscapes comprising soils with heterogeneous physicochemical properties. Spatial variability of nutrient sources enhances landscape biodiversity and creates heterogeneous habitats potentially attractive for animals and humans. In this study, we analyze the role of geological processes in the distributions of soil nutrients in the southern Kenya Rift, a key region in the interpretation of early human-landscape interactions. Our aim is to determine how spatial variations in rock chemistry, as well as topographic gradients and localized zones of rock fracturing from tectonic faulting determine the distributions of plant-available soil nutrients in soils. We hypothesize that present-day soil nutrient levels reflect the long-term chemical and geomorphological characteristics of the landscape and underlying parent material, and that regions with high nutrient availability occur along pathways correlating with locations of hominin fossil sites. Analyses of 91 topsoil samples from the main geological units show that Calcium (Ca) deficiencies predominately occur in shallow soils developed on trachytic volcanic rocks and granitic gneisses, while high Ca levels are associated with basaltic parent material and sedimentary deposits of mixed sources. XRF analysis of rock samples confirms that CaO levels in trachyte rocks are significantly lower than those in basalts, and Ca mobilization in basalt is more effective than in trachyte. Along two toposequences in densely faulted basaltic and trachytic rocks, we observed slope dependent soil nutritional gradients and a systematic increase of the concentrations of Ca, Mg and SOC in topsoils of colluvial sediments downslope of active normal faults. Known hominin sites in the region are located either along corridors of long-term Ca availability or at short-term nutrient hotspots potentially related to active CO2 degassing along active fault zones. This implies a strategic advantage of Ca-rich regions for hominin subsistence strategies, such as provision of predictable constraints on the distribution and mobility of grazing animals in complex tectonic landscapes. Our study implies that geological processes impact nutrient distributions in the southern Kenya Rift. Results of this study have further implications for understanding the role of soils in the interpretation of hominin-landscape interactions in the early stages of human evolution.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai Gong ◽  
Chen Chen ◽  
Jingxian Zhu ◽  
Guangyao Qi ◽  
Shuxia Jiang

BackgroundCultivating the wine-cap mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata) on forestland has become popular in China. However, the effects of wine-capStrophariacultivation on soil nutrients and bacterial communities are poorly understood.MethodsWe employed chemical analyses and high-throughput sequencing to determine the impact of cultivating the wine-capStrophariaon soil nutrients and bacterial communities of forestland.ResultsCultivation regimes ofStrophariaon forestland resulted in consistent increases of soil organic matter (OM) and available phosphorus (AP) content. Among the cultivation regimes, the greatest soil nutrient contents were found in the one-year interval cultivation regime, and the lowest totalNand alkaline hydrolysable N contents were observed in the current-year cultivation regime. No significant differences were observed in alpha diversity among all cultivation regimes. Specific soil bacterial groups, such as Acidobacteria, increased in abundance after cultivation ofStropharia rugosoannulata.DiscussionGiven the numerous positive effects exerted by OM on soil physical and chemical properties, and the consistent increase in OM content for all cultivation regimes, we suggest that mushroom cultivation is beneficial to forest soil nutrient conditions through increasing OM content. Based on the fact that the one-year interval cultivation regime had the highest soil nutrient content as compared with other cultivation regimes, we recommend this regime for application in farming practice. The spent mushroom compost appeared to be more influential than the hyphae ofS. rugosoannulataon the soil nutrients and bacterial communities; however, this requires further study. This research provides insight into understanding the effects of mushroom cultivation on the forest soil ecosystem and suggests a relevant cultivation strategy that reduces its negative impacts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 765-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.-Y. Li ◽  
P.-P. Fan ◽  
Y. Liu ◽  
G.-L. Hou ◽  
Q. Wang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuxi Zhong ◽  
Chuanwu Chen ◽  
Yanping Wang

Abstract China is a country with one of the most species rich reptile faunas in the world. However, nearly a quarter of Chinese lizard species assessed by the China Biodiversity Red List are threatened. Nevertheless, to date, no study has explicitly examined the pattern and processes of extinction and threat in Chinese lizards. In this study, we conducted the first comparative phylogenetic analysis of extinction risk in Chinese lizards. We addressed the following three questions: 1) What is the pattern of extinction and threat in Chinese lizards? 2) Which species traits and extrinsic factors are related to their extinction risk? 3) How can we protect Chinese lizards based on our results? We collected data on ten species traits (body size, clutch size, geographic range size, activity time, reproductive mode, habitat specialization, habitat use, leg development, maximum elevation, and elevation range) and seven extrinsic factors (mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, mean annual solar insolation, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), human footprint, human population density, and human exploitation). After phylogenetic correction, these variables were used separately and in combination to assess their associations with extinction risk. We found that Chinese lizards with small geographic range, large body size, high habitat specialization, and living in high precipitation areas were vulnerable to extinction. Conservation priority should thus be given to species with the above extinction-prone traits so as to effectively protect Chinese lizards. Preventing future habitat destruction should also be a primary focus of management efforts because species with small range size and high habitat specialization are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3957
Author(s):  
Yingying Xing ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Xiaoli Niu ◽  
Wenting Jiang ◽  
Xiukang Wang

Soil nutrients are essential nutrients provided by soil for plant growth. Most researchers focus on the coupling effect of nutrients with potato yield and quality. There are few studies on the evaluation of soil nutrients in potato fields. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soil nutrients of potato farmland and the soil vertical nutrient distributions, and then to provide a theoretical and experimental basis for the fertilizer management practices for potatoes in Loess Plateau. Eight physical and chemical soil indexes were selected in the study area, and 810 farmland soil samples from the potato agriculture product areas were analyzed in Northern Shaanxi. The paper established the minimum data set (MDS) for the quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland by principal component analysis (PCA), respectively, and furthermore, analyzed the soil nutrient characteristics of the cultivated layer adopted soil quality index (SQI). The results showed that the MDS on soil quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland soil included such indicators as the soil organic matter content, soil available potassium content, and soil available phosphorus content. The comprehensive index value of the soil quality was between 0.064 and 0.302. The SPSS average clustering process used to classify SQI was divided into three grades: class I (36.2%) was defined as suitable soil fertility (SQI < 0.122), class II (55.6%) was defined as moderate soil fertility (0.122 < SQI < 0.18), and class III (8.2%) was defined as poor soil fertility (SQI > 0.186). The comprehensive quality of the potato farmland soils was generally low. The proportion of soil nutrients in the SQI composition ranged from large to small as the soil available potassium content = soil available phosphorus content > soil organic matter content, which became the limiting factor of the soil organic matter content in this area. This study revolves around the 0 to 60 cm soil layer; the soil fertility decreased gradually with the soil depth, and had significant differences between the respective soil layers. In order to improve the soil nutrient accumulation and potato yield in potato farmland in northern Shaanxi, it is suggested to increase the fertilization depth (20 to 40 cm) and further study the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer.


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