Changes in soil physico-chemical and microbiological properties during natural succession on abandoned farmland in the Loess Plateau |
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Authors: | Bing?Wang Email author" target="_blank">Guo?Bin?LiuEmail author Sha?Xue Bingbing?Zhu |
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Institution: | (1) Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China;(2) Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China;(3) Key Lab of Northwest Water Resources and Environment Ecology of MOE, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China |
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Abstract: | The re-establishment of natural species-rich heath lands on abandoned farmland is one of the main measures in soil erosion
control in the Loess Plateau of China. So, it is important to understand how the vegetation and soil properties develop after
land abandonment. The objective of this study was to determine how physico-chemical properties, microbial biomass, and enzyme
activities changed for abandoned farmland with an age sequence of 0, 1, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50 years in Zhifanggou
watershed (8.27 km2), Shaanxi Province, NW China. The results of this study indicate that species succession after land abandonment in the Zhifanggou
watershed on the Loess Plateau resulted in a significant improvement in soil chemical and microbiological properties. Soil
organic C, total N, available N and K, soil microbial biomass C, N and P, as well as alkaline phosphatase, catalase, saccharase,
and cellulase activity increased with time since plantation establishment increased. In contrast, soil bulk density, pH, and
polyphenol oxidase activity decreased after farmland abandonment. Urease and α-amylase decreased until 15 years at the early
phase of species succession, and then increased. However, there was no significant change in total P and available P during
the restoration. Results only implied the tendency that the herbage was developing toward shrub. Although secondary succession
plays an important role which improved soil properties after farmland abandonment, the values of these parameters were still
much lower than native forest in 50 years. Thus, vegetation recovery after farmland abandonment in a semi-arid environment
would be slow and the improvement of soil properties in the Loess Plateau is likely to require a considerably long period
of time. |
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