Characteristics and Stability of Soil Aggregates in Tea Plantation

Abstract:

Soil aggregate stability as a key indicator of soil structure and erodibility to evaluate soil stability, is a product of interactions between soil environment, management practices, and land use patterns. The objective of this study was to analyze the distribution characteristics, characteristics of fractal features and stability of soil aggregates in tea plantations and eucalyptus plantations of Western Sichuan in China. The dry- and water-stable aggregate size distributions were determined by dry sieving and wet sieving methods. The results showed that soil structural properties in tea and eucalyptus plantations were similar. With increase in depth of soil layer, the aggregate stability of tea plantation soil became stronger. Comparative analysis of dry and wet sieving results showed that most of the aggregates in tea plantation soil were unstable. The soil aggregates >5mm and 0.5-0.25mm in size had higher stability, while those 2-1mm in size had lower stability. For tea plantation soil, the correlation coefficients between aggregate stability index and mean weight diameter, geometric mean diameter, fractal dimension were bigger under wet sieving than those under dry sieving. The results showed that aggregate stability index, mean weight diameter, geometric mean diameter, fractal dimension of water-stable aggregates could characterize soil aggregate stability in tea plantation ideally.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 343-344)
• Pages: 968-974
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.343-344.968
• Online since: September 2011
• Authors: Zi Cheng Zheng, Ting Xuan Li, Shu Qin He
• Keywords: Aggregate Stability Index, Fractal Dimension, Geometric Mean Diameter, Mean Weight Diameter, Tea Plantation

References

[1] J.G. Yang, S. S An, F. L Zheng, Characteristics of soil water stable aggregates and relationship with soil properties during vegetation rehabilitation in Ningxia Loess Hilly Region, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, vol. 20, no. 1, pp.72-75, 98, (2006).

[2] W. Guo, Z. H Shi, L. D Chen Z.X. Li,F. L Yan, and C.F. Cai, Effects of topsoil aggregate size on runoff and erosion at hillslope in red soils, Acta Ecologica Sinica, vol. 27, no. 6, pp.2516-2522, (2007).

[3] N. Hu, W. L. Fu, Z.M. Ma, X.J. Zeng, and H. Yuan, Study on erosion resistance of soil and fractal features of soil aggregates under different patterns of farmland set-aside in karst rock desertification area, Carsologica Sinica, vol. 27, no. 2, pp.115-121, (2008).

[4] Y. Caton,A. Sole-Benet,C. Awensio, S. Chamizob, and J. Puigdefábregas, Aggregate stability in range sandy loam soils relationships with runoff and erosion, Catena, vol. 77, pp.1-8, (2009).

DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2008.12.011

[5] L.D. Ning, H. Shi, H.J. Zhou, and S.R. Liu, Quantitative characteristics of soil aggregates under different vegetations in upper reach of Minjiang River, Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 16, no. 8, pp.1405-1410, (2005).

[6] H. Zhou, Y.Z. Lv, Z.C. Yang, and B.G. Li, Effects of conservation tillage on soil aggregates in Huabei Plain, China, Scientia Agricultura Sinica, vol. 40, no. 9, pp.1973-1979, (2007).

[7] X.F. Cheng, M.S. Zhao, X.Z. Shi, and H.J. Wang, Fractal dimension of red soil particle and relationship with environmental factors in Xingguo County, China, Transactions of the CSAE, vol . 23, no. 12, pp.76-79, (2007).

[8] S.W. Zhao, J. Su, Y.H. Yang, N. N Liu J.S. Wu,Z.P. Shangguan, A fractal method of estimating soil structure changes under different vegetations on ZiWuling mountains of the Loess Plateau, China, Agricultural Sciences in China, vol . 5, no. 7, pp.530-538, (2006).

DOI: 10.1016/s1671-2927(06)60088-6

[9] R. L Li, Evaluation of the resource value of China tea garden ecosystem, Journal of Tea, vol . 24, no. 3, pp.175-121, (2008).

[10] X.J. Liu B.S. ZhengG,B.B. Wang, and J. Hu, Change of soil characteristics with tea planting, Bulletin of Mineralogy , Petrology and Geochemistry, vol. 25, pp.95-97, (2006).

[11] J.F. Dormaar, Chemical properties of soil and water stable aggregates after sixty-seven years of cropping to spring wheat, Plant and Soil, vol. 75, p.51–61, (1983).

DOI: 10.1007/bf02178613

[12] B.T. Christensen, Physical fractionation of soil organic matter in primary particles and density separates, Advances in Soil Science, Vol . 20, p.1–76, (1992).

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-2930-8_1

[13] J.F. Liu, W. Hong, and C. Z Wu, Fractal features of soil clusters under some precious hardwood stands in the central subtropical region, China, Acta Ecologica Sinica, vol. 22, no. 2, pp.197-205, (2002).

[14] N.B. Jerzy, W. Witkowska, Index of soil aggregates stability as linear function value of transition matrix elements, Soil & Tillage Research, vol . 70, pp.121-130, (2003).

DOI: 10.1016/s0167-1987(02)00155-1

[15] N.B. Jerzy, W. Witkowska, The soil aggregates stability index (ASI) and its extreme values, Soil & Tillage Research, vol. 80, pp.69-78, (2005).

DOI: 10.1016/j.still.2004.02.023

[16] H. Shi, Using transition matrix to evaluate stability of soil aggregates, Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation, vol. 26, no. 3, pp.91-95, (2006).