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Impacts of wind erosion on the distribution patterns of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in Horqin Sandy Land, China.

LIAN Jie1,2**, ZHAO Xue-yong1, WANG Shao-kun1, WANG Xin-yuan1,2, YUE Xiang-fei1,2, HAN Juan-juan1,2, YUN Jian-ying1, HUANG Wen-da1   

  1. (1Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; 2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)
  • Online:2013-03-10 Published:2013-03-10

Abstract: Taking the severely desertified region (S) in central Naiman County and the region with potential desertification (P) in Shelihu Lake basin of Horqin Sandy Land as test objects, a comparative study was made on the topsoil physical and chemical properties and the 0-100 cm soil layer’s organic carbon and total nitrogen contents and particle size fractions. In the regions S and P, three plots were installed, respectively, i.e., control (MS and MC), winderoded (TS and SC), and particulate-deposited (LS and NC). From northwest to southeast, the soil texture in the study area varied from coarse and fine sand to silt and clay and very fine sand. With the density of silt and clay decreased by 1 kg·m-2, the soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents decreased by 10 and 1.1 g·m-2, respectively. In 0-20 cm soil layer, the bulk density was averagely 1.322-1.651 g·cm-3 and in the order of TS>MS>LS>NC>SC>MC, silt and clay fraction varied in a reverse order, and pH was in the order of NC>SC>MC> region S. As compared with those in the control plots MS and MC, the soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents in winderoded plots TS and SC decreased to different extent. In the particulatedeposited plots LS and NC, the soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents had an obvious increase in LS than in TS and MS, but a sharp decrease in NC than in SC and MC. The soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents in silt and clay fraction were much higher in region S than in region P, but the impact of wind erosion-induced silt and clay loss and particulate deposition on soil quality was more significant in region P than in region S. It was suggested that under the natural conditions of Horqin Sandy Land, inappropriate land use and management could increase the wind erosion risk of potentially desertified soil, and the sustained impact of wind erosion could induce the different changes of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage.