Preliminary Study to Determine the Key Limiting Indicator of Cropland Soil Quality on the Tibetan Plateau

Dianqing Gong, Zhaofeng Wang (), Yili Zhang, Bo Wei, Binghua Zhang, Xiaoyang Hu, Min Deng and Changjun Gu
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Dianqing Gong: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Zhaofeng Wang: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yili Zhang: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Bo Wei: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Binghua Zhang: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Xiaoyang Hu: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Min Deng: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Changjun Gu: National Disaster Reduction Center, Ministry of Emergency Management, Beijing 100124, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: Assessing cropland soil quality and identifying limiting indicators are crucial in guiding sustainable agricultural practices, particularly in fragile agricultural ecosystems. However, a unified understanding of key limiting indicators and the controlling factors of soil quality remains lacking due to the dual demands of environmental protection and agricultural production. To address this gap, 621 soil samples were collected across the “One River and Its Two Tributaries” agricultural region on the Tibetan Plateau. Twenty-four soil physicochemical indicators and eight environmental parameters were analyzed to evaluate soil quality and identify the key limiting factors. Meanwhile, the random forest model, correlation analysis, and the structural equation model were used to determine the factors influencing limiting indicator. The results showed that (1) croplands had a mean soil quality index (SQI) of 0.66 with obvious spatial heterogeneity, where eastern, northern, and southern regions exhibited higher SQI values than western and central valley areas. (2) Soil organic matter (SOM) was identified as the primary limiting indicator, with its limiting degree increasing with soil depth. (3) Total nitrogen is the strongest statistical predictor of SOM content in this region, while soil pH negatively impacted SOM. Environmental factors, including fertilizer amount, altitude, and normalized difference vegetation index, positively influenced SOM, whereas temperature and precipitation negatively affected it. (4) The structural equation model revealed effective intervention pathways for addressing SOM deficiency, highlighting targeted measures such as optimizing nitrogen management and increasing organic fertilizer application, particularly in relative lower-altitude areas. This study provides a unified perspective for managing soil quality and offers a potentially replicable framework for similar alpine ecosystems worldwide.

Keywords: soil quality index; soil organic matter; influencing factors; structural equation model; Tibetan Plateau (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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