IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i7p3963-d780966.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changes in Soil Aggregate Fractions, Stability, and Associated Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Different Land Use Types in the Loess Plateau, China

Author

Listed:
  • Yi Zhang

    (Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwest China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
    Key Laboratory for Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystem in Northwest China of Ministry of Education, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China)

  • Peng Li

    (Key Laboratory of National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China)

  • Xiaojun Liu

    (Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwest China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
    Key Laboratory for Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystem in Northwest China of Ministry of Education, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China)

  • Lie Xiao

    (Key Laboratory of National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China)

Abstract

Rational land use can enhance soil nutrient sequestration and control erosion, but the mechanisms of the ecological restoration of soil-aggregate-associated carbon and nitrogen are still not well understood. A large-scale ecological restoration program was launched in the Loess Plateau during the 1990s. The ecological restoration programs involved converting slope farmland to woodland, grassland, shrub land, and terrace. We studied their effects in relation to cultivated land as control on soil aggregate structure and stability and their associated organic carbon and total nitrogen contents to 60 cm soil depth in the Loess Plateau. Our results indicate that the restoration practices reduced soil aggregate fragmentation, increased soil structure stability, and transformed micro-aggregates into small and large aggregates. Comparing with the soil aggregate >0.25 mm in cultivated land, the amount in woodland, grassland, shrub land and terrace increased by 71%, 66%, 46%, and 35%, respectively, which improved soil health overall. The mean weight diameter of aggregate indicates that soil aggregate stability (SAS) increased and soil hydraulic erosion resistance improved. In conclusion, ecological restoration directly or indirectly affected SAS through the influence of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in different soil layers. Results of this study provide a scientific reference for understanding stabilization of soil aggregate and regional restoration.

Suggested Citation

  • Yi Zhang & Peng Li & Xiaojun Liu & Lie Xiao, 2022. "Changes in Soil Aggregate Fractions, Stability, and Associated Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Different Land Use Types in the Loess Plateau, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:3963-:d:780966
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/3963/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/3963/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liurui Deng & Bolin Ma, 2013. "Almost Everywhere Convergence of Riesz Means Related to Schrödinger Operator with Constant Magnetic Fields," Abstract and Applied Analysis, Hindawi, vol. 2013, pages 1-7, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ziru Niu & Yongzhong Su & Juan Li & Fangjiao An & Tingna Liu, 2023. "Effect of Attapulgite Application on Aggregate Formation and Carbon and Nitrogen Content in Sandy Soil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Xiaoyan Li & Zipeng Qin & Yan Tian & Hongwei Zhang & Haitao Zhao & Jiafa Shen & Weilong Shao & Guangrong Jiang & Xianding Guo & Junsuo Zhang, 2022. "Study on Stability and Ecological Restoration of Soil-Covered Rocky Slope of an Abandoned Mine on an Island in Rainy Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:3963-:d:780966. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.