Special Column:Celebration of the 70th Anniversary of IGSNRR, CAS

The Changes and Influencing Factors of Soil C:N Ratio in Small Watershed of Hilly Region of Loess Plateau

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  • 1. College of Resource and Environment , Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China;
    2. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, CAS and Ministry of Water Resource, Yangling 712100, China

Received date: 2011-07-29

  Revised date: 2011-11-28

  Online published: 2012-07-20

Abstract

Investigated the changes of soil C:N ratio can help us to understand accumulation of soil organic carbon and nitrogen and tendency of soil quality changes. Based on landforms and land use types, 737 soil samples were collected for investigating the changes of soil C:N ratio and its’influencing factors at a typical small watershed in the hilly region of the Loess Plateau. The results showed that in the condition of 0-20 cm soil layer, in ridge slope soil C:N ratios of woodland and grassland were 1.13 and 1.03 times that of those cropland; in gulley slope the soil C:N ratios of woodland, grassland and cropland were 13.88, 12.58 and 9.02 respectively; in cropland the soils C:N ratios of gulley slope, ridge slope and valley bottom were 9.02, 10.34 and 10.77 respectively; in woodland the soils C:N ratios of gulley slope and ridge slope were 13.88 and 11.67 respectively;in grassland the soil C:N ratio of gulley slope was 1.19 times that of the ridge slope; in the same landforms or land use types, soil C:N ratio was larger in the surface layer than in the deep layer, soil C:N ratios in 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm soil layer were 1.05 to 1.17 and 1.16 to 1.42 times that of those in the deep layer.

Cite this article

ZHANG Yan-jun, GUO Sheng-li, NAN Ya-fang, LI Ze . The Changes and Influencing Factors of Soil C:N Ratio in Small Watershed of Hilly Region of Loess Plateau[J]. JOURNAL OF NATURAL RESOURCES, 2012 , (7) : 1214 -1223 . DOI: 10.11849/zrzyxb.2012.07.012

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