Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Soil quality in east coastal region of China as related to different land use types

  • SOILS, SEC 1 • SOIL ORGANIC MATTER DYNAMICS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The impacts of different land use practices on soil quality were assessed by measuring soil attributes and using factor analysis in coastal tidal lands. The study provided relevant references for coastal exploitation, land management and related researches in other countries and regions.

Materials and methods

Measured soil attributes include physical indicators [bulk density (ρ b), total porosity (ƒ t) and water-holding capacity (WHC)], chemical indicators [pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen (TN), soil organic matter (SOM), available N, available P and available K] and biological indicators (urease activity, catalase activity and phosphatase activity), and 60 soil samples were collected within five land use types [(1) intertidal soils, (2) reclaimed tidal flat soils, (3) farmland soils, (4) suburban vegetable soils, (5) industrial area soils) in Jianggang village of Dongtai county, Jiangsu province of China.

Results and discussion

The results from the investigation indicated that selected soil properties reduced to three factors for 0–20-cm soil depth; “Soil fertility status” (factor 1), “Soil physical status” (factor 2) and “Soil salinity status” (factor 3). For the first factor, the measured soil attributes with higher loadings were TN and SOM, which represented soil fertility feature, and for the second and third factors, the measured soil attributes with higher loadings were ρ b and available K as well as EC, which reflected soil physical properties and soil salinity feature, respectively.

Conclusions

Changes in different land use types due to plants (corn, wheat and green vegetable) and application of fertilizers were characterized by promoted soil quality, including improvements in chemical properties (increasing SOM concentration, TN and nutrient available to plants; decreasing EC), improvements in soil physical properties (decreasing ρ b; increasing ƒ t and WHC) and enhancements in soil enzyme activities. Judging from the soil quality indices, the soil quality was affected by different land use practices and decreased in sequence of suburban vegetable soils, farmland soils, industrial area soils, reclaimed tidal flat soils and intertidal soils in the study area.

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

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrews SS, Karlen DL, Mitchell JP (2002a) A comparison of soil quality indexing methods for vegetable production systems in Northern California. Agric Ecosyst Environ 90:25–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews SS, Mitchell JP, Mancinelli R, Larlen DL, Hartz TK, Horwarth WR, Pettygrove GS, Scow KM, Munk DS (2002b) On farm assessment of soil quality in California’s Central Valley. Agron J 94:12–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Augé RM, Stodola AJW, Tims JE, Saxton AM (2001) Moisture retention properties of mycorrhizal soil. Plant Soil 230:87–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bao SD (1999) Soil and agricultural chemistry analysis. China Agriculture Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Brejda JJ, Moorman TB, Karlen DL, Dao TH (2000) Identification of regional soil quality factors and indicators. I. Central and Southern High Plains. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:2115–2124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Buyanovsky GA, Wagner GH (1998) Changing role of cultivated land in the global carbon cycle. Biol Fert Soils 27:242–245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Canali S, Trinchera A, Intrigliolo F, Pompili L, Nisini L, Mocali S, Torrisi B (2004) Effect of long term addition of composts and poultry manure on soil quality of citrus orchards in Southern Italy. Biol Fert Soils 40:206–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caravaca F, Masciandaro G, Ceccanti B (2002) Land use in relation to soil chemical and biochemical properties in a semiarid Mediterranean environment. Soil Till Res 68:23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chander K, Goyal S, Mudra MC, Kapoor KK (1997) Organic matter, microbial biomass and enzyme activity of soils under different crop rotations in the tropics. Biol Fert Soils 24:306–310

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ci LJ, Yang XH (2010) Desertification and its control in China. Higher Education Press, Beijing

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cifuentes LA, Coffin RB, Solorzano L, Cardenas W, Espinoza J, Twilley RR (1996) Isotopic and elemental variations of carbon and nitrogen in a mangrove estuary. Estuar Coast Shelf S 43:781–800

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dalal RC, Moloney D (2000) Sustainability indicators of soil health and biodiversity. In: Hale P, Petrie A, Moloney D, Sattler P (eds) Management for sustainable ecosystems, centre for conservation biology. The University of Queensland, Brisbane

    Google Scholar 

  • Dick RP (1994) Soil enzyme activities as indicators of soil quality. In: Doran JW, Coleman DC, Bezdicek DF, Stewart BA (eds) Defining soil quality for a sustainable environment. Soil Science Society of America, Madison

    Google Scholar 

  • Everitt B (2005) An R and S-PLUS® companion to multivariate analysis (Springer texts in statistics). Springer, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • García C, Hernández T, Costa F (1994) Microbial activity in soils under Mediterranean environmental conditions. Soil Biol Biochem 26:1185–1191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregorich EG, Carter MR, Angers DA, Monreal CM, Ellert BH (1994) Towards a minimum data set to assess soil organic matter quality in agricultural soils. Can J Soil Sci 74:367–385

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Havlin JL, Kissel DE, Maddux LD, Classen MM, Long JH (1990) Crop rotation and tillage effects on soil organic carbon and nitrogen. Soil Sci Soc Am J 54:448–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang CY (2000) Soil science. China Agriculture Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • IUSS Working Group WRB (2006) World reference base for soil resources 2006, 2nd edn. World Soil Resources Report NO. 103. FAO, Rome

  • Jagadamma S, Rattan L, Hoeft RG, Nafziger ED, Adee EA (2007) Nitrogen fertilization and cropping systems effects on soil organic carbon and total nitrogen pools under chisel-plow tillage in Illinois. Soil Till Res 95:348–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson RA,Wichern DW (1992) Applied multivariate statistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

  • Kosmas C, Danalatos NG, Gerontidis ST (2000) The effect of land parameters on vegetation performance and degree of erosion under Mediterranean conditions. Catena 40:3–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson WE, Clapp CE, Pierre WH, Morachan YB (1972) Effects of increasing amounts of organic residues on continuous corn: II. Organic carbon nitrogen phosphorus and sulphur. Agron J 64:204–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li ZG, Luo YM, Teng Y (2008) Soil and environmental microbiology research method. Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu RK (1999) Soil agricultural chemical analysis method. China Agriculture Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Lugato E, Paustian K, Giardini L (2006) Modelling soil organic carbon dynamics in two long-term experiments of north-eastern Italy. Agric Ecosyst Environ 120:423–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundquist EJ, Scow KM, Jackson LE, Uesugi SL, Johnson CR (1999) Rapid response of soil microbial communities from conventional, low input, and organic farming systems to a wet/dry cycle. Soil Biol Biochem 31:11661–11675

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo YJ, Wang ZF, Gao M, Wei CF (2011) Effects of conservation tillage on organic carbon, nitrogen and enzyme activities in a hydragric anthrosol of Chongqing, China. Energy Procedia 5:30–36

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mao ZG, Wang GX, Liu JE, Ren LJ (2009) Influence of salt marsh vegetation on spatial distribution of soil carbon and nitrogen in Yancheng coastal wetland. Chin J Appl Ecol 20:293–297, in Chinese

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paustian K, Parton WJ, Persson J (1992) Modelling soil organic matter in organic amended and nitrogen-fertilized long-term plots. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56:476–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson BJ, Fry B (1987) Stable isotopes in ecosystems studies. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 18:293–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajashekhara Rao BK, Siddaramappa R (2008) Evaluation of soil quality parameters in a tropical paddy soil amended with rice residues and tree litters. Eur J Soil Biol 44:334–340

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos ME, Benítez E, Garcí PA, Robles AB (2010) Cover crops under different managements vs. frequent tillage in almond orchards in semiarid conditions: effects on soil quality. Appl Soil Ecol 44:6–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen PE, Collins HP (1991) Long-term impacts of tillage fertilizer and crop residue on soil organic matter in temperate semi-arid regions. Adv Agron 45:93–134

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma KL, Mandal UK, Srinivas K, Vittal KPR, Mandal B, Grace J, Ramesh V (2005) Long-term soil management effects on crop yields and soil quality in a dryland Alfisol. Soil Till Res 83:246–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi Z, Cheng JL, Huang MX, Zhou LQ (2006) Assessing reclamation levels of coastal saline lands with integrated stepwise discriminant analysis and laboratory hyperspectral data. Pedosphere 16:154–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shukla MK, Lal R, Ebinger M (2006) Determining soil quality indicators by factor analysis. Soil Till Res 87:194–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson FJ (1986) Carbon balance of the soil and role of organic matter in soil fertility. Cycles of soil—carbon, phosphorus, sulphur, micro-nutrients. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan RB, Mei XR (2007) SPSS statistical analysis of practical course. Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarchouna LG, Merdy P, Raynaud M, Pfeifer HR, Lucas Y (2010) Effects of long-term irrigation with treated wastewater. Part I: evolution of soil physico-chemical properties. Appl Geochem 25:1703–1710

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trimble SW (1990) Geomorphic effects of vegetation cover and management: some time and space considerations in prediction of erosion and sediment yield. In: Thornes J (ed) Vegetation and erosion, processes and environments. Wiley, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Wander MM, Bollero GA (1999) Soil quality assessment of tillage impacts on Illinois. Soil Sci Soc Am J 63:961–971

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang RZ (1989) Soil particle density, bulk density and porosity determination; soil particle analyses; soil moisture determination. In: Li UK (ed) Routine methods of agro-chemistry and soil, agro-chemistry committee of Chinese society of soil science. Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Xu QM, Cao B, Zhang ZJ, Ma SF (2005) Effects of controlled release coated urea on soil fertility and enzyme activities of protected vegetable field. J Soil Water Conserv 19:77–80, in Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y (1983) The mudflat of China. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 40:160–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Zhang ZK, Zhu DK, Yang JH, Mao LJ, Li SH (2006) River-sea interaction and the North Jiangsu Plain formation. Quat Sci 26:301–320, in Chinese

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong MB, Lei XZ, Tian YB, Song GY, Cao SY (2003) Effects of long-term application of fertilizer on purple soil enzymatic activities. J Sichuan Univ (Eng Sci Ed) 35:60–61, in Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan CQ, Sun W, Lu XP, Yang DY (2007) Study on coastal wetlands use and its ecological protection of Jiangsu Province. Ecol Sci 26:263–268, in Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang BG, Wang Y, Zhu DK (1997) The tidal flat resource of China. J Nat Res 12:307–316, in Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Yi YL (2009) Soil physics research method. Peking University Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang MK, Fang LP (2007) Effect of tillage, fertilizer and green manure cropping on soil quality at an abandoned brick making site. Soil Till Res 93:87–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L (2008) SPSS application on biological statistics. Xiamen University Press, Xiamen

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XL, Gong ZT (2003) Human-induced soil degradation in China. Ecol Environ 12:317–321, in Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XQ, Wang GX, Wang YH, Wang ZL (2006) The changes of erosion or progradation of tidal flat and retreat or extension of wetland vegetation of the Yan Cheng coast, Jiangsu. Mar Sci 30:35–39, in Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao LP, Jiang Y (1986) Discussion on soil phosphatase activity determination method. Chin J Soil Sc 3:138–141, in Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou LK, Zhang ZM (1980) Soil enzyme activity determination method. Chin J Soil Sc 11(37–38):49, in Chinese

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank the staff of Soil Physics and Salinization Laboratory, Nanjing, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Funding for this study was provided by the special funds for scientific research on public causes (200903001), the enterprises in Jiangsu province academy of workstation (BM2009622), the major innovative construction project of cooperation between industries, universities and research institutes in Jiangsu province (BY2010013), the project of science and technology support plan (agriculture) in Jiangsu Province (BE2010313), the special funding for transformation of scientific and technological achievements in Jiangsu province (BA2010116) and the project of natural science fund in Jiangsu province (BK2009337), in China.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, People’s Republic China

    Qingfeng Meng, Jingsong Yang, Rongjiang Yao & Guangming Liu

  2. Dongtai Institute of Tidal Flat Research, Nanjing Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dongtai, 224200, Jiangsu, People’s Republic China

    Jingsong Yang & Rongjiang Yao

  3. School of Resources and Environments, Northeast Agriculture University, No. 59 Mucai Street, Harbin, 150030, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic China

    Qingfeng Meng

Authors
  1. Qingfeng Meng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jingsong Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rongjiang Yao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Guangming Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jingsong Yang.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Scott X. Chang

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Meng, Q., Yang, J., Yao, R. et al. Soil quality in east coastal region of China as related to different land use types. J Soils Sediments 13, 664–676 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0648-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0648-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation