Effect of Land Cultivation on Soil Nutrient Sedimentation in Water at Southern China

Authors

  • Jianshuang Gao State Key Lab of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Yuhe Zhang State Key Lab of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Zhuangzhuang Qian State Key Lab of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
  • Shunyao Zhuang State Key Lab of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v2i1.1227

Abstract

Soil erosion associated with land cultivation exerts a great impact on ecological environment. Such an impact is specific of land, crop, tillage, management and so on. This study aimed to investigate the effects of crop cultivation on water quality by comparing nutrient distribution in the sediment at Southern China. Two sedimentation sites adjacent to the uncultivated (S1) and cultivated upland (S2) were selected and samples were analyzed. Results showed that soil pH decreased with the increasing depth above 20 cm and then kept relatively stable of the both sediments. Soil organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus contents decreased with the increasing depth. There was no significant difference between two sediments in organic matter and nitrogen contents, but the total phosphorus and extractable phosphorus contents in S2 were much higher than that in S1. The data indicated that soil eroded from S2 could possess much high potential to deteriorate water quality. Nutrient sedimentation can reflect the history of soil erosion and provide useful information for sustainable soil management and water conservation through improving cultivation and tillage measures.

Keywords:

137Cs, nitrogen, Organic matter, pH, Phosphorus, Red soil region, Sediment

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How to Cite

Gao, J., Zhang, Y., Qian, Z., & Zhuang, S. (2019). Effect of Land Cultivation on Soil Nutrient Sedimentation in Water at Southern China. Research in Ecology, 2(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v2i1.1227

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