[1]MA Huaixia,YAN Kai,Gbadamassi G. O. Dossa,et al.Distribution of Soil Properties and Stable Isotopes Based on Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy[J].Research of Soil and Water Conservation,2019,26(03):58-65,71.
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Research of Soil and Water Conservation[ISSN 1005-3409/CN 61-1272/P] Volume:
26
Number of periods:
2019 03
Page number:
58-65,71
Column:
Public date:
2019-04-12
- Title:
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Distribution of Soil Properties and Stable Isotopes Based on Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy
- Author(s):
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MA Huaixia1,2,3,4, YAN Kai1,2,3, Gbadamassi G. O. Dossa1,2,3, XU Jianchu1,2,4
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1. Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China;
2. Centre for Mountain Ecosystem Studies, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China;
3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
4. World Agroforestry Centre, East and Central Asia, Kunming 650201, China
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- Keywords:
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soil; properties; mid infrared; land use; north Laos
- CLC:
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S153.6
- DOI:
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- Abstract:
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Understanding the complex interrelationship between land use and soil properties is essential for land management and ecological restoration. However, the time-consuming and costly nature of traditional soil chemistry analysis present an obstacle to carrying out rapid, large-scale soil studies in developing countries. We used the rapid, cost-effective method of mid-infrared spectroscopy to investigate the effects of different land use types on the vertical distribution of soil properties including pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, carbon-nitrogen ratio, phosphorus, potassium, soil texture and stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen. Soil samples were taken from the tropical mountainous regions of northern Laos under six different land use types:bamboo forest, cropland, fallow land, forest, secondary forest and rubber forest. As vertical soil profiles are a better source of information on soil health than shallow soil samples, samples were taken at different depths between 0-110 cm. The results indicated that:(1) soils throughout the study site were acidic, showing an average pH level of 5.23; cropland had slightly higher pH levels than other land types because of the use of fertilizers, and pH levels across all land use types did not change significantly with soil depth; (2) the levels of soil organic carbon and soil nitrogen varied consistently with different land use types; in each soil layer, soil organic carbon content and soil nitrogen content in fallow land and rubber forest were relatively low, while the highest levels of organic carbon and nitrogen were found in bamboo forest soils; organic carbon and soil nitrogen levels significantly decreased with soil depths across all land use types; (3) regardless of soil depth, the ratio of soil carbon to nitrogen was lower in fallow land and rubber forest; the highest ratios of carbon to nitrogen were found in forest soils; the ratio of carbon to nitrogen decreased with increase of soil depth; (4) soils in bamboo forest showed the highest levels of phosphorus and potassium among all land use types; the distribution of phosphorus content along soil depth in fallow land and secondary forest soils followed the U-shape, first decreasing and then increasing with soil depth; in other land use types, phosphorus content decreased with increase of soil depth; potassium content increased with increase of soil depth across all land use types; (5) there was no difference in the natural abundance of δ13C by depth or across all land use types; the natural abundance of δ13C was approximately -27‰ in all soil layers; the natural abundance of δ15N was relatively low and indicated high levels of both leaf litter decomposition and use of organic fertilizers; (6) soil texture in bamboo forest consisted of significantly smaller particles than in other land use types; smaller sizes of soil particles result in stronger adsorption and adhesion of soil nutrients, which may explain our observation that bamboo forest had the highest level of soil nutrients across all land use types. This study can provide the evidence for promoting the use of mid-infrared spectroscopy to analyze soil and build up soil status bank for developing countries and such approach represents an excellent tool for quick soil diagnostic and consequentially convenient soil health management.