Changes in Soil Aggregate Fractions, Stability, and Associated Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Different Land Use Types in the Loess Plateau, China

Yi Zhang, Peng Li, Xiaojun Liu and Lie Xiao
Additional contact information
Yi Zhang: Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwest China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Peng Li: Key Laboratory of National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Xiaojun Liu: Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwest China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Lie Xiao: Key Laboratory of National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Rational land use can enhance soil nutrient sequestration and control erosion, but the mechanisms of the ecological restoration of soil-aggregate-associated carbon and nitrogen are still not well understood. A large-scale ecological restoration program was launched in the Loess Plateau during the 1990s. The ecological restoration programs involved converting slope farmland to woodland, grassland, shrub land, and terrace. We studied their effects in relation to cultivated land as control on soil aggregate structure and stability and their associated organic carbon and total nitrogen contents to 60 cm soil depth in the Loess Plateau. Our results indicate that the restoration practices reduced soil aggregate fragmentation, increased soil structure stability, and transformed micro-aggregates into small and large aggregates. Comparing with the soil aggregate >0.25 mm in cultivated land, the amount in woodland, grassland, shrub land and terrace increased by 71%, 66%, 46%, and 35%, respectively, which improved soil health overall. The mean weight diameter of aggregate indicates that soil aggregate stability (SAS) increased and soil hydraulic erosion resistance improved. In conclusion, ecological restoration directly or indirectly affected SAS through the influence of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in different soil layers. Results of this study provide a scientific reference for understanding stabilization of soil aggregate and regional restoration.

Keywords: ecological restoration; soil aggregate; soil organic carbon; total nitrogen; aggregate stability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/3963/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/3963/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:3963-:d:780966

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().