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Fractal features and infiltration characteristics of the soil from different land uses in a small watershed in a rocky, mountainous area in Shandong Province

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Abstract

We studied infiltration and fractal mechanisms on sloping farmlands in a small watershed in Shandong Province in the rocky mountain areas of northern China. We studied soil fraction and soil water retention curves, and developed a soil infiltration model to analyze its quantitative relationship with soil particle size and pore dimensions under four types of land use, including sloping farmland, abandoned land, natural forest, and forest plantation (Malus pumila, Crataegus pinnatifida). Soil stability infiltration rate ranked as sloping farmland > abandoned land > natural forest > forest plantation. The sequence of soil particle size and pore dimension ranked as natural forest > forest plantation > abandoned land > sloping farmland. There were significant positive correlations between soil particle size and pore dimension, and both were positively correlated with the percent volume of silt and clay. They were negatively correlated with soil infiltration rate. The Horton model and the power function model were more suitable for simulating soil infiltration and the infiltration rate. We concluded that the soil in this area displayed typical fragments of rocky mountainous regions due to the loss of silt and clay caused by cultivation on sloping farmland. The uniformity and fractal dimensions of soil particle sizes and pore distribution decreased, thereby enhancing soil infiltration capacity and decreasing soil water retention capacity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Ecological Restoration, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Lei Wang, Rui Yang, Shuyong Zhang & Guangcan Zhang

  2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Restoration, Collaborative Innovation Center of Sustainable Forestry in Southern China of Jiangsu Province, Forestry College of Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People’s Republic of China

    Xia Liu

Authors
  1. Lei Wang
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  2. Rui Yang
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  3. Shuyong Zhang
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  4. Guangcan Zhang
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  5. Xia Liu
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Guangcan Zhang or Xia Liu.

Additional information

Project funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31070627), and the Research and Demonstration on the Key Technology of Vegetation Restoration and Reconstruction in the Open Pit of in Eastern Shandong Hilly Area (201504406).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Zhu Hong.

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Wang, L., Yang, R., Zhang, S. et al. Fractal features and infiltration characteristics of the soil from different land uses in a small watershed in a rocky, mountainous area in Shandong Province. J. For. Res. 31, 1017–1024 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0789-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0789-0

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