Soil health evaluation approaches along a reclamation consequence in Hangzhou Bay, China

Reclamation has been widely used to alleviate the degradation of cultivated upland and support the increasing grain demand. However, the response of soil ecosystem functioning and soil health to the reclamation of coastal wetlands remains unclear. A reclaimed soil chronosequence over 1000 years in Hangzhou Bay, China, was analyzed to assess two key approaches to evaluate soil health. We used the minimum data set along with the soil quality index (SQI) area and the sensitivity–resistance approaches. The physicochemical properties of the reclaimed soils changed drastically at the initial stage (during the first 60 years) but only marginally thereafter. Owing to continuous freshwater irrigation, plant cultivation, fertilization, and desalination, from natural tidal flats converted to vegetable fields, the SQI and soil multifunctional index increased along the reclamation chronosequence. The soil properties sensitive to the reclamation of coastal wetlands (electrical conductivity, exchangeable potassium, and enzyme activities) explained most of the variation in the SQI area, followed by the resistance indicators. This suggests that small changes in the sensitivity indicators might have considerable impacts on the improvement of soil quality. The most resistant properties with the slowest changes included pH and physical characteristics—water content, bulk density, and aggregate size classes. The quality indicators identified for reclaimed soils in Hangzhou Bay based on the SQI area and sensitivity–resistance approaches can be useful for soil health evaluation for soils affected by natural and anthropogenic factors. These approaches and indicators can be effectively used to evaluate soil quality and develop sustainable agriculture. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

Authors
Wei L.1 , Li Y. 2 , Zhu Z.1 , Wang F.3 , Liu X.4 , Zhang W.5 , Xiao M.1 , Li G.6, 7 , Ding J.1 , Chen J. 1 , Kuzyakov Y. 1, 8, 9 , Ge T. 1
Publisher
Elsevier B.V.
Language
English
Status
Published
Number
108045
Volume
337
Year
2022
Organizations
  • 1 State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China
  • 2 Ningbo Agricultural and Rural Bureau, Ningbo, 315099, China
  • 3 Institute of Eco-Environmental Sciences, Ningbo Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ningbo, 315040, China
  • 4 Zhejiang Provincial Cultivated Land Quality and Fertilizer Administration Station, Hangzhou, 310020, China
  • 5 Key Laboratory of Arable Land Quality Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
  • 6 Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China
  • 7 Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, CAS Haixi Industrial Technology Innovation Center in Beilun, Ningbo, 315830, China
  • 8 Department of Soil Science of Temperate Ecosystems, Department of Agricultural Soil Science, University of Gottingen, Gottingen, 37077, Germany
  • 9 Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation
Keywords
Minimum data set; Reclamation; Sensitivity and resistance; Soil health; Soil organic matter; Soil quality index
Date of creation
06.07.2022
Date of change
06.07.2022
Short link
https://repository.rudn.ru/en/records/article/record/83517/
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