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Arid Land Geography ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (2): 514-524.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000–6060.2021.02.22

• Biology and Pedology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Evaluation of cultivated land quality and analysis of soil nutrients and salinization in arid areas: Taking Minqin Oasis as an example

MA Qianqian1(),DONG Bo2,XU Wangwang1,CAI Liqun1,2(),WU Jun1,2   

  1. 1. College of Resources and Environment, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    2. Provincial Key Laboratory of Arid Land Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
  • Received:2020-02-16 Revised:2020-09-08 Online:2021-03-25 Published:2021-04-14
  • Contact: Liqun CAI E-mail:694709379@qq.com;cailq@gsau.edu.cn

Abstract:

The Minqin area, Gansu Province, China has a typical temperate continental arid climate zone, a unique natural condition, suitable for accumulating sugar in crops. Recently, because of the massive exploitation of groundwater resources, the groundwater level has declined. Furthermore, the degree of water mineralization has increased, and land desertification and salinization has increased significantly, severely restricting the development of agriculture in arid areas. This study is based on the measures for investigation, Monitoring and Evaluation of Cultivated Land Quality issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (2016 No. 2 of the Ministry of Agriculture), the national standards of Cultivated Land Quality Grading (GB/T33469-2016), and the Comprehensive Agricultural Regionalization of China. Furthermore, this study analyzes the quality of cultivated land in the Minqin Oasis and provides a scientific basis and countermeasures for protecting and improving cultivated land quality in the Minqin Oasis. The results show that the average arable land quality grade of the Minqin Oasis is 3.26. The land is distributed from one to seven grades, whereas the eighth, ninth, and tenth grades are undistributed. The third and fourth graded lands are the main body of the cultivated land quality grades in the Minqin Oasis, and the area proportions are 31.63% and 28.27%, respectively. Most irrigated agricultural areas in the middle of the Quanshan District and dam area are distributed in the first and second graded lands. Irrigation areas in the lake area are mostly distributed in third and fourth graded lands. More areas exist, such as five, six, and seven on the edge of the oasis. The average soil organic matter content in the cultivated land of the Minqin Oasis is between 10.00 and 15.00 g·kg-1, and the average total nitrogen content is between 0.50 and 1.00 g·kg-1, which is generally at a low level. Available phosphorus and potassium are at medium levels. The area of salinized arable land in the Minqin Oasis is 32240.36 hm2, accounting for 30.09% of the total arable land. Light salinization is dominant, followed by moderate and severe salinization. Chemical cultivated land is the smallest, accounting for 7.46%. Slight salinization is mostly distributed in Hongshagang, Hongshaliang, Xiqu, and other towns in the lake area. Moderate salinization is distributed in Changning and along the wind-sand line in the Huanhe District. Shortly, the cultivated land in the Minqin Oasis is deficient in soil nutrients, and the soil organic matter and total nitrogen are deficient. The cultivated land soil is predominantly lightly salinized. From the perspective of spatial distribution characteristics, the cultivated land soil nutrient content in Changning, the lake area, and the area along the wind-sand line in the surrounding river area is low, with obvious salinization. To improve the quality of cultivated land and soil fertility and minimize salinization, efforts should be made to increase the intensity of cultivated land in lake areas, river-circling areas, and wind and sand.

Key words: cultivated land quality evaluation, analytic hierarchy process, arable land resource management information system of a county, Minqin Oasis