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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (3): 17-28.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2024175

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Analysis of spatial characteristics of soil nutrients in grasslands in the Fenhe River upper reaches using GIS technology and cluster analysis

Jia-xin LI1,2,3(), Ya-hong JING1,2,3, Jun ZHANG1,2,3, Si-pu JING1,2,3, Yu-xing YANG1,2,3, Bo-yang FAN1,2,3, Wen-jie LU1,2,3()   

  1. 1.College of Grassland Science,Shanxi Agricultural University,Taigu 030801,China
    2.Key Laboratory of Model Innovation in Forage Production Efficiency,Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,Taigu 030801,China
    3.Shanxi Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecological Protection and Native Grass Germplasm Innovation,Taigu 030801,China
  • Received:2024-05-14 Revised:2024-07-15 Online:2025-03-20 Published:2025-01-02
  • Contact: Wen-jie LU

Abstract:

Protecting and managing the soil environment plays a key role in ensuring the sustainable development of grasslands. This study employed geographic information system technology to investigate the soil nutrient status at 81 sites in grasslands in the upper reaches of Fenhe River. Cluster analysis with soil chemical properties as the primary criteria was used to group the surface soil of the 81 sites into three categories. The study evaluated spatial characteristics of soil nutrients for three soil horizons: 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm. It was found that the overall level of grassland soil health in the study area was suboptimal, with low natural moisture content, relatively scarce total phosphorus and alkaline nitrogen content, and a weakly alkaline soil pH. There are significant differences in the spatial distribution characteristics of various nutrient related indicators. The best fitting models of these different indicators varied between soil horizons, and the spatial autocorrelation of most indicators was weak, which indicates that the spatial variation of soil nutrients is primarily impacted by both structural and random factors. In the horizontal direction, a distinct spatial pattern was observed for each indicator. Sites with high soil nutrient concentrations surrounded by sites also with high soil nutrients, known as high-high concentration aggregation zones, were predominantly found in the headwaters of the Fenhe River, while sites with low soil nutrient concentrations also surrounded by sites with low soil nutrients, known as low-low concentration aggregation zones, occurred mainly in the eastern part of the Fenhe River basin. Low-high clustering areas were scattered, and high-low clustering areas were less frequent and mostly located in the southern part of the upper reaches. Vertically, across the three soil horizons at sampling sites, no significant spatial variation was observed for total potassium and the content of other related soil chemical properties decreased with soil depth. The clustering characteristics of each soil property did not show a clear change with depth. The results provide scientific and reasonable guidance for the restoration of degraded grasslands.

Key words: the upper reaches of Fenhe River, soil health, cluster analysis, geostatistics, spatial autocorrelation