Content and densities of soil organic carbon in urban soil in different function districts of Kaifeng

Urban soil, forming along with the development of city, has unique properties of soil organic carbon. On the basis of field investigation and laboratory analysis, soil organic carbon (SOC) of Kaifeng city was studied, and the results showed that the characteristics of SOC were different not only among function districts in urban area, but also between urban area and suburbs. The order of SOC in topsoil was industrial district > recreational district > traffic district > cultural/educational district > residential/administrative district. The density of soil organic carbon (SOCD) in both topsoil and profile followed the orders of recreational district > industrial district > traffic district>cultural/educational district > residential/administrative district, and cultural/educational district s>traffic district>industrial district>recreational district > administrative/residential district, respectively. SOCD in both topsoil and profile decreased along the transection line from urban area to suburbs and urban area had 2.53-fold more SOCD in topsoil and 1.56-fold more SOCD in profile than suburbs, respectively. SOC decreased with the depth and was mainly distributed within the scope of 0–30 cm. The variances of SOC in urban area were more complicated than that in suburbs.