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Arid Land Geography ›› 2020, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (4): 1051-1058.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2020.04.20

• Biology and Pedology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Soil particle size distribution of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations in the Horqin Sandy Land

CHEN Yu-xuan1,2, ZHANG Fei-yue1,2, GAO Guang-lei1,2, DING Guo-dong1,2, ZHANG Ying1, Liu Xue-feng3   

  1. 1 Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation,Beijing Forestry University,Beijing 100083,China;
    2 Yanchi Research Station,School of Soil and Water Conservation,Beijing Forestry University,Beijing 100083,China;
    3 Inner Mongolia Academy of Forestry Sciences,Hohhot 010010,Inner Mongolia,China
  • Received:2019-07-22 Revised:2019-12-09 Online:2020-07-25 Published:2020-11-18

Abstract: In order to reveal the effects of different Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations on the soil particle size distribution(PSD) in the Horqin Sandy Land,Inner Mongolia,China,we collected aeolian soil samples of middle-aged,near-mature,and mature plantation,as well as of bare sandy land. The PSD was determined by using a laser diffraction technique. The soil particle size parameters and the grading curve of different plantation types were then calculated and analyzed. The results indicated the following:(1) The soil PSD in the Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations in the Horqin Sandy Land demonstrated the prevalence of sand,followed by clay and silt. With the development of the plantations,we noted an increase of the clay and silt fractions,paralleled by a decrease of the sand fraction. Basically,the sand content of the bare sandy land outweighed that of the plantation soil at the same layer. (2) The plantation soil PSD reflected a poor sorting;moreover,it had a positive skewness and a sharp kurtosis,suggesting the prevalence of coarse particles. The fractal dimensions of the plantation soil between 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm were in the range of 2.18-2.43 and 1.98-2.17,respectively. Overall,the soil texture,sorting,and fractal dimension of the bare sandy land were inferior to those of the plantations. (3) The frequency curve of each plantation showed two peaks. With the development of the plantations,the structure of the soil layer between 0-10 cm was refined faster than that between 10 and 20 cm. The content of suspended components in the plantations was higher than in the bare sandy land,while the sorting of the jump components was less optimized. The results of this study,which include the characteristics of soil PSD in different types of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations in Horqin Sandy Land,can be applied to contrast the desertification process affecting the study area and to ecological restoration.

Key words: Horqin Sandy Land, Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, particle size distribution, particle size parameter, particle grading curve