Soil Quality Assessment of Different Land Use Types Based on TOPSIS Method in Hilly Sandy Area of Loess Plateau, Northern China

Yida An, Lei Zhang, Qing Wang () and Yunwei Han
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Yida An: School of Environment and Resource, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Fucheng District, Mianyang 621010, China
Lei Zhang: School of Economics and Management, Taiyuan Normal University, Yuci District, Jinzhong 030619, China
Qing Wang: School of Environment and Resource, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Fucheng District, Mianyang 621010, China
Yunwei Han: Department of Tourism, Taiyuan University, Xiaodian District, Taiyuan 030032, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-17

Abstract: In order to combat land desertification and to evaluate the soil quality of different cover land types, and thereby determine the best land use strategy for vegetation restoration, this research comprehensively analyzed the soil quality of different land use/cover types in the hilly sandy area of the Loess Plateau by using the Kruskal–Wallis test (K–W test) and principal component analysis (PCA) technique for order preference by the similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and the potential ecological risk index ( RI ). The result indicated that the cropland abandonment over a period of time could improve the soil quality to a certain extent; however, the process of natural restoration was very slow compared with that of the planted mixed shrubs. The soil quality of all land use/cover types in the hilly sandy area of Youyu County clearly improved after 10–25 years of revegetation, but the degree of improvement varied greatly with the different planted species and their combinations. The low levels of soil organic matter, total nitrogen and available phosphorus were the major limiting factors affecting soil quality improvement under different land use/cover types, not metal toxicity. Pioneer species of H. rhamnoide , C. korshinskii and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica , etc. are vital to vegetation restoration of the study area. Revegetation using these species is therefore recommended to combat future desertification in this area.

Keywords: soil quality; land use types; ecological risk; kastanozems; weighted TOPSIS method; Loess Plateau (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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