Structural quality of soil in plantation: a case study on the mixed plantation of Alnus cremastogyne and Cupressus funebris in upper reaches of Yangtze River

Abstract

In process of ecological construction in typical region of upper reaches of Yangtze River, China, the mixed plantations at the ages of 10–20 present a trend to be pure forests and degeneration. Soil samples including stratified soil and total soil were taken from 4 typical profiles in the mixed plantation of Alnus cremastogyne and Cupressus funebris in Yanting County in central Sichuan, China. Soil indices of the plantation were compared with those of natural forest in Gongga Mountain in the same region. The results revealed that structural quality of soil in plantation was significantly lower than that in natural forests. The degradation of structural quality of soil in plantation was one of key factors for plantation degeneration. The degradation causes of structural quality of soil were analyzed. Aanthropogenic disturbance and absence of effective protection and scientific management are the main reason for degradation of structural quality of soil in plantation. The main countermeasures, e.g. forest reservation, ecological rehabilitation, litter horizon rebuilding as well as organic fertilizer application, were proposed to improve the structural quality of soil in plantation.

Keywords

Plantation / Soil structural quality / Countermeasure / Yangtze River

References

[1] Barthes B., Roose E. Aggregate stability as an indicator of soil susceptibility to runoff and erosion: validation at several levels [J]. Catena, 2002, 47: 133-149.

[2] Cao Z. Program advance of evolving rules of soil quality and sustainable utilization [M], 2004 Beijing: Chinese Science Press 354-364.

[3] Doran J.W., Parkin T.B. Defining and assessing soil quality. Defining quality for a sustainable environment [M], 1994 USA: SSSA Special publication, Madison, Wisconsin 3-21.

[4] He Y., Liao C., Xu P. The zonal distribution of erosion-landslide and soil micromorphologic features in purple hilly region [J]. Journal of Mountain Science, 2005, 2(1): 42-49.

[5] He Y., Zhang B., Huang C., Zhou H., Cheng G. Diagnostic characteristics and taxonomic classification of forest soils on the east slopes of Gongga Mountain [J]. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 2004, 26(1): 27-32.

[6] Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Physical and Chemic Analysis of Soil [M], 1978 Shanghai: Science Technology Press 62-1361.

[7] Pankhurst C.E., Hawke B.G., Mcdonald H. J. et al. Evaluation of soil biological properties as potential bioindicators of soil health [J]. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 1995, 35: 1015-1028.

[8] Shi P., Zhong Z., Li X. A study on root system of Alder and Cypress mixed plantation [J]. Acta Ecological Sinica, 1996, 16(6): 623-531.

[9] Shi P., Zhong Z. A study on the biomass of Alder and Cypress mixed forest in Sichuan [J]. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica, 1996, 20(6): 524-533.

[10] Zhang B., He Y., Zhou H., Cheng G. The features of soil aggregation and its eco-environmental effects under different subalpine forests on the east slope of Gongga Mountain, China [J]. Journal of Forestry Research, 2003, 14(1): 80-82.

[11] Zhao Q., Sun B., Zhang T. Soil quality and sustainable environment [J]. Soil, 1997, 29(3): 113-120.

[12] Zhu Z. Chinese agricultural cyclopedia: soil tome [M], 1996 Beijing: Agricultural Press 48-51.