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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (4): 68-79.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2020371

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Evaluation of soil quality in Leymus chinensis-Achnatherumsplendens grassland and in Stipa sareptana grassland

Li-xing ZHANG1,2(), Chun-xing HAI1(), Yao-wen CHANG1,2, Xiao-mei GAO1,2, Wen-bang GAO3, Yun-hu XIE4   

  1. 1.College of Geographical Science,Inner Mongolia Normal University,Hohhot 010022,China
    2.Laboratory of Mongolian Plateau Environment & Global Change,Hohhot 010022,China
    3.Faculty of Geographical Science,Beijing Normal University,Beijing 100093,China
    4.Baotou Teachers College of Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology,Baotou 014030,China
  • Received:2020-08-03 Revised:2020-11-02 Online:2021-04-20 Published:2021-03-16
  • Contact: Chun-xing HAI

Abstract:

This research investigated soil quality of the vegetation communities in typical grassland in Inner Mongolia. Two sites (approximately 1340 m altitude), one dominated by Leymus chinensis and Achnatherum splendens (Lc-As) mixed grassland (tolerant of soil salinity) andthe other by Stipa sareptana (Ss) grassland (intolerant of soil salinity) were selected for study. Soil quality data were evaluated for six soil horizons in Lc-As (A1, A2, AB, Bk, Bb, C>130 cm) and five horizons in Ss (A1, A2, AB, Bk, C>90 cm) using multivariate nonlinear methods. Initially, 10 soil physicochemical parameters were measured and a principal component (PC) analysis performed on these. From these 10 parameters a ‘minimum data set’ (MDS) was selected based on a ‘Norm’ score which assessed the influence of each parameter based on size of PC coefficients (≥0.5) and uniqueness of information (low Pearson correlation with other parameters). In this way three parameters were selected for inclusion in the MDS: soil organic matter (OM, indicative of nutrient status), electrical conductivity (EC, indicative of salinity) and bulk density (BD, lower bulk density indicating better soil aeration). It was found that: 1) Soil water content and electrical conductivity of Lc-As grassland in the A2 to Bk horizons was significantly higher than that of Ss grassland (P<0.05), and pH of Lc-As grassland in the A2 and AB horizons was higher than in Ss grassland (P<0.05). The average nutrient content of Lc-As grassland was higher than that of Ss grassland in the A horizon (P<0.05), but the opposite was true in the Bk to C horizons. 2) A soil quality index (SQI) was calculated from the MDS with OM, EC and BD weighted 0.39, 0.16 and 0.45, respectively. 3) The SQI of Lc-As grassland was higher than that of Ss in the A1 horizon, while in the A2 to C horizons, the SQI of Lc-As grassland was significantly lower than in Ss grassland (P<0.05). These research results provide scientific parameters useful for the development of sustainable grassland management practices.

Key words: Leymus chinensis and Achnatherum splendens, Stipa sareptana, soil physicochemical properties, minimum data set, soil quality