Short Term Effects of Revegetation on Labile Carbon and Available Nutrients of Sodic Soils in Northeast China

Pujia Yu, Xuguang Tang, Shiwei Liu, Wenxin Liu and Aichun Zhang
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Pujia Yu: Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Xuguang Tang: Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Shiwei Liu: Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Wenxin Liu: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Aichun Zhang: College of Mobile Telecommunications, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecom, Chongqing 401520, China

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: In response to land degradation and the decline of farmers’ income, some low quality croplands were converted to forage or grassland in Northeast China. However, it is unclear how such land use conversions influence soil nutrients. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influences of short term conversion of cropland to alfalfa forage, monoculture Leymus chinensis grassland, monoculture Leymus chinensis grassland for hay, and successional regrowth grassland on the labile carbon and available nutrients of saline sodic soils in northeastern China. Soil labile oxidizable carbon and three soil available nutrients (available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium) were determined at the 0–50 cm depth in the five land uses. Results showed that the treatments of alfalfa forage, monoculture grassland, monoculture grassland for hay, and successional regrowth grassland increased the soil labile oxidizable carbon contents (by 32%, 28%, 15%, and 32%, respectively) and decreased the available nitrogen contents (by 15%, 19%, 34%, and 27%, respectively) in the 0–50 cm depth compared with cropland, while the differences in the contents of available phosphorus and available potassium were less pronounced. No significant differences in stratification ratios of soil labile carbon and available nutrients, the geometric means of soil labile carbon and available nutrients, and the sum scores of soil labile carbon and available nutrients were observed among the five land use treatments except the stratification ratio of 0–10/20–30 cm for available phosphorus and the values of the sum scores of soil labile carbon and available nutrients in the 0–10 cm depth. These findings suggest that short term conversions of cropland to revegetation have limited influences on the soil labile carbon and available nutrients of sodic soils in northeastern China.

Keywords: revegetation; Solonetz; stratification ratio; geometric mean; Songnen plain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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