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Exclosure on CT-measured soil macropore characteristics in the Inner Mongolia grassland of northern China

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Grassland exclosure is a widely-used option to prevent from grazing in degraded grasslands for restoration. However, the influence of exclosure on soil macropore of grassland remain scarce. The objective of this study was to quantify the pore architecture of grassland soils under exclosure.

Materials and methods

Two treatments, 9E (grassland enclosed for 9 years) and 5E (grassland enclosed for 5 years), were designed, with grazing as a control in the experiment. Nine soil columns (0–50 cm deep) were taken at the three sites with three replicates. At each site, three soil columns were from the grassland, and cores were scanned with a Philips Brilliance ICT Medical Scanner. Numbers of macropores, macroporosity, network density, length density, and node density within the 50-cm soil profile were interpreted from X-ray computed tomography to analyze soil pore architecture.

Results and discussion

The results indicated that exclosure significantly influenced CT-measured soil macroporosity in the Inner Mongolia grassland of northern China. Soils under enclosed grassland had greater macroporosity, length density, total volume, and node density than that of under freely grazed grassland. Macroporosity increased as the enclosure age increased. For soils under enclosed grassland, macropores were concentrated at 0–300-mm soil layers, and macropores were mainly present at 0–100-mm soil depth under freely grazed grassland. The large number of macropores found in soil under enclosed grassland can be attributed to greater root development.

Conclusions

Exclosure increases soil macroporosity and improve soil structure.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 41471018), National Key R&D Program of China (Grant number: 2016YFA0601901), the PCSIRT (IRT-15R06), and projects supported by the State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Xia Hu, Yan-Li Lyu, Yong Liu, Xiao-Yan Li, Zhen-Ting Sun, Zong-Chao Li, Ya-Qian Cheng, Lan-Lan Guo & Lian-You Liu

  2. School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Xia Hu, Yong Liu, Xiao-Yan Li, Zhen-Ting Sun, Zong-Chao Li & Ya-Qian Cheng

  3. Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Yan-Li Lyu & Lian-You Liu

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  1. Xia Hu
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Correspondence to Xia Hu.

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Hu, X., Lyu, YL., Liu, Y. et al. Exclosure on CT-measured soil macropore characteristics in the Inner Mongolia grassland of northern China. J Soils Sediments 18, 718–726 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1828-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1828-8

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