Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A classification scheme for Earth’s critical zones and its application in China

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Science China Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As the thin layer at the Earth’s terrestrial surface, the critical zone (CZ) ranges from the vegetation canopy to the aquifer or the interface between saprolite and bedrock and varies greatly in space. In the last decade, much attention has been paid to the establishment of Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs) that focus on various aspects of CZ science over different time scales. However, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have explicitly contributed to CZ classification or regionalization; thus, the spatial patterns of similar CZs have not been clearly identified. This study proposed a three-category CZ classification scheme by integrating environmental factors that greatly affect the transfer of energy and mass in the Earth’s near-surface environment and thus dominate CZ formation and evolution, i.e., climate, parent material, soil type, groundwater table depth, geomorphology and land use. The main goal was to highlight the zonality of these driving forces, of which the high-category classification units were overlaid to delineate the CZ boundaries. The CZ regionalization of China was performed as a case study, resulting in 44 major regions (1st category), 100 submajor regions (2nd category) and 1448 regions (3rd category). The spatial distributions and driving factors of the ten largest regions were identified, followed by a simple comparison of the CZO network. Then, the proposed CZ regionalization was compared with recent studies on regionalization in China to evaluate its successes and weaknesses. By linking together CZ studies from the last decade, we advocate that a theoretical framework integrating the CZ evolution processes with ecological functions acts as one of the frontiers of CZ science. Our study demonstrates that the proposed three-category CZ classification scheme effectively identifies the spatial variations in CZs and could thus be further applied in other areas to advance terrestrial environmental research and provide decision support for the sustainable management of natural resources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson S P, Bales R C, Duffy C J. 2008. Critical zone observatories: Building a network to advance interdisciplinary study of earth surface processes. Mineral Mag, 72: 7–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banwart S, Bernasconi S M, Bloem J, Blum W, Brandao M, Brantley S, Chabaux F, Duffy C, Kram P, Lair G, Lundin L, Nikolaidis N, Novak M, Panagos P, Ragnarsdottir K V, Reynolds B, Rousseva S, de Ruiter P, van Gaans P, van Riemsdijk W, White T, Zhang B. 2011. Soil processes and functions in critical zone observatories: Hypotheses and experimental design. Vadose Zone J, 10: 974–987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batjes N H. 2008. Mapping soil carbon stocks of Central Africa using SOTER. Geoderma, 146: 58–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bui E N. 2016. Data-driven critical zone science: A new paradigm. Sci Total Environ, 568: 587–593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao S, Liu Y, Su W, Zheng X, Yu Z. 2018. The net ecosystem services value in mainland China. Sci China Earth Sci, 61: 595–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen F, Fu B, Xia J, Wu D, Wu S, Zhang Y, Sun H, Liu Y, Fang X, Qin B, Li X, Zhang T, Liu B, Dong Z, Hou S, Tian L, Xu B, Dong G, Zheng J, Yang W, Wang X, Li Z, Wang F, Hu Z, Wang J, Liu J, Chen J, Huang W, Hou J, Cai Q, Long H, Jiang M, Hu Y, Feng X, Mo X, Yang X, Zhang D, Wang X, Yin Y, Liu X. 2019. Major advances in studies of the physical geography and living environment of China during the past 70 years and future prospects. Sci China Earth Sci, 62: 1665–1701

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng W, Zhou C, Li B, Shen Y. 2019. Geomorphological regionalization theory system and division methodology of China (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 74: 839–856

    Google Scholar 

  • Ding Y. 2013. Series Monograph of Physical Geography of China: China’s Climate (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy C, Shi Y, Davis K, Slingerland R, Li L, Sullivan P L, Goddéris Y, Brantley S L. 2014. Designing a suite of models to explore critical zone function. Proced Earth Planet Sci, 10: 7–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan J. 2015. Draft of major function oriented zoning of China (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 70: 186–201

    Google Scholar 

  • Fan J. 2019. The progress and characteristics of Chinese human geography over the past 70 years (in Chinese). Sci Sin Terr, 49: 1697–1719

    Google Scholar 

  • Fan Y, Li H, Miguez-Macho G. 2013. Global patterns of groundwater table depth. Science, 339: 940–943

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu B J, Liu G H, Chen L D, Ma K M, Li J R. 2001. Scheme of ecological regionalization in China (in Chinese). Acta Ecol Sin, 21: 1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Giardino J R, Houser C. 2015. Principles and dynamics of the critical zone. In: Shroder J J F, eds. Developments in Earth Surface Processes. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Gong Z T. 1999. Theory, Method and Practice of Chinese Soil Taxonomy (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Gong Z T, Huang R J, Zhang G Z. 2014. Soil geography in China (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimaud J L, Chardon D, Metelka V, Beauvais A, Bamba O. 2015. Neogene cratonic erosion fluxes and landform evolution processes from regional regolith mapping (Burkina Faso, West Africa). Geomorphology, 241: 315–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grunwald S, Thompson J A, Boettinger J L. 2011. Digital soil mapping and modeling at continental scales: Finding solutions for global issues. Soil Sci Soc Am J, 75: 1201–1213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo L, Lin H. 2016. Critical zone research and observatories: Current status and future perspectives. Vadose Zone J, 15: 1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Igué A M, Gaiser T, Stahr K. 2004. A soil and terrain digital database (SOTER) for improved land use planning in Central Benin. Eur J Agron, 21: 41–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin J X, Wang Y, Jiang H, Kong Y, Lu X H, Zhang X Y. 2016. Improvement of ecological geographic regionalization based on remote sensing and canonical correspondence analysis: A case study in China. Sci China Earth Sci, 59: 1745–1753

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin H. 2010. Earth’s critical zone and hydropedology: Concepts, characteristics, and advances. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci, 14: 25–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu H, Jiang Z, Dai J, Wu X, Peng J, Wang H, Meersmans J, Green S M, Quine T A. 2019. Rock crevices determine woody and herbaceous plant cover in the karst critical zone. Sci China Earth Sci, 62: 1756–1763

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu D, Guo L. 1998. Man-Earth Areal System—The core of geographical study—On the geographical thoughts and academic contributions of Academician Wu Chuanjun (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 53: 97–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Lü Y, Hu J, Fu B, Harris P, Wu L, Tong X, Bai Y, Comber A J. 2019. A framework for the regional critical zone classification: The case of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Natl Sci Rev, 6: 14–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2008. Ecological function regionalization in China (in Chinese). Beijing: Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. 2001. Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Sciences. Washington D C: National Academy Press. 1–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Ni S. 1994. A recent exploration of China’s comprehensive physiographic regionalization (in Chinese). J Nanjing University-Natural Sci Ed, 30: 706–714

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelletier J D, Broxton P D, Hazenberg P, Zeng X, Troch P A, Niu G Y, Williams Z, Brunke M A, Gochis D. 2016. A gridded global data set of soil, intact regolith, and sedimentary deposit thicknesses for regional and global land surface modeling. J Adv Model Earth Syst, 8: 41–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian Q, Wang S, Bai X, Zhou D, Tian Y, Li Q, Wu L, Xiao J, Zeng C, Chen F. 2018. Assessment of soil erosion in karst critical zone based on soil loss tolerance and source-sink theory of positive and negative terrains (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 73: 2135–2149

    Google Scholar 

  • Shao M, Wang Y, Xia Y, Jia X. 2018. Soil drought and water carrying capacity for vegetation in the critical zone of the Loess Plateau: A review. Vadose Zone J, 17: 170077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song X D, Wu H Y, Liu F, Tian J, Cao Q, Yang S H, Peng X H, Zhang G L. 2019. Three-dimensional mapping of organic carbon using piecewise depth functions in the Red Soil Critical Zone Observatory. Soil Sci Soc Am J, 83: 687–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song X D, Wu H Y, Ju B, Liu F, Yang F, Li D C, Zhao Y G, Yang J L, Zhang G L. 2020. Pedoclimatic zone-based three-dimensional soil organic carbon mapping in China. Geoderma, 363: 114145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tahir M, Lv Y, Gao L, Hallett P D, Peng X. 2016. Soil water dynamics and availability for citrus and peanut along a hillslope at the Sunjia Red Soil Critical Zone Observatory (CZO). Soil Tillage Res, 163: 110–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang J, Wang W, Yang L, Qiu Q, Lin M, Cao C, Li X. 2020. Seasonal variation and ecological risk assessment of dissolved organic matter in a peri-urban critical zone observatory watershed. Sci Total Environ, 707: 136093

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang Q, Ti C, Xia L, Xia Y, Wei Z, Yan X. 2019. Ecosystem services of partial organic substitution for chemical fertilizer in a peri-urban zone in China. J Clean Prod, 224: 779–788

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Engelen V W P. 1993. Global and national soils and terrain digital databases (SOTER) procedures manual. International Soil Reference and Information Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Gao L, Peng X. 2019. Hydrologic separation and their contributions to N loss in an agricultural catchment in hilly red soil region. Sci China Earth Sci, 62: 1730–1743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Luo W, Zeng G, Peng H, Cheng A, Zhang L, Cai X, Chen J, Lyu Y, Yang H, Wang S. 2020. Characteristics of carbon, water, and energy fluxes on abandoned farmland revealed by critical zone observation in the karst region of southwest China. Agr Ecosyst Environ, 292: 106821

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu H, Song X, Zhao X, Peng X, Zhou H, Hallett P D, Hodson M E, Zhang G L. 2019. Accumulation of nitrate and dissolved organic nitrogen at depth in a red soil Critical Zone. Geoderma, 337: 1175–1185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu S, Yang Q, Zheng D. 2003. Comparative study on eco-geographic regional systems between China and USA (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 58: 686–694

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu Z. 1980. Vegetation in China (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiong Y. 1986. Soil Atlas of China (in Chinese). Beijing: Sinomap press

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiong Y, Zhang J. 1995. Hydrological Regionalization in China (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu X, Liu W. 2017. The global distribution of Earth’s critical zone and its controlling factors. Geophys Res Lett, 44: 3201–3208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang G L, Zhao Y G. 2008. SOTER database for China, scale 1:1 million. Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Institute of Soil Science, Nanjing

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang G, Zhu Y, Shao M. 2019. Understanding sustainability of soil and water resources in a critical zone perspective. Sci China Earth Sci, 62: 1716–1718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Q. 2003. Development and innovation of modern soil science (in Chinese). Acta Pedol Sin, 40: 321–327

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao S, Sun H, Huang R, Yang Q. 1988. Modern Physical Geography (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao S. 1983. A new scheme for comprehensive physical regionalization in China (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 38: 1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng D, Ge Q, Zhang X, He F, Wu S, Yang Q. 2005. Regionalization in China: Retrospect and prospect (in Chinese). Geogr Res, 24: 330–344

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng J, Yin Y, Li B. 2010. A new scheme for climate regionalization in China (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 65: 3–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou C, Cheng W, Qian J, Li B, Zhang B. 2009. Research on the classification system of digital land geomorphology of 1:1,000,000 in China (in Chinese). J Geo-Infor Sci, 11: 707–724

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou L. 1981. Comprehensive Agricultural Regionalization in China (in Chinese). Beijing: China Agriculture Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu Y, Li G, Zhang G, Fu B. 2015. Soil security: From Earth’s critical zone to ecosystem services (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 70: 1859–1869

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Academician Chenghu Zhou, Professor Chunmiao Zheng and Professor Yuanrun Zheng for the sharing of geomorphology, climate and vegetation type maps. We thank the National Earth System Science Data Center, the National Science & Technology Infrastructure of China ( http://www.geodata.cn ) for the land use data support. We are grateful to the two reviewers for their constructive suggestions. This work was jointly supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFE0107000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41571130051, 41771251 and 41977003) and the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP) (Grant No. 2019QZKK0306).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Ganlin Zhang & Xiaodong Song

  2. Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Ganlin Zhang

  3. College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Ganlin Zhang

  4. School of Land Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Kening Wu

  5. Key Laboratory of Consolidation and Rehabilitation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, 100035, China

    Kening Wu

Authors
  1. Ganlin Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiaodong Song
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kening Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ganlin Zhang.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhang, G., Song, X. & Wu, K. A classification scheme for Earth’s critical zones and its application in China. Sci. China Earth Sci. 64, 1709–1720 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9798-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9798-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation