Soil organic carbon content under different land use in longzhong part of Loess Plateau

摘要

In this study the soil organic carbon content (SOC) was analyzed and compared in three typical land use systems in the Longzhong region of the Loess plateau; cultivated land, grassland and forest meadow. In the 0 - 10 cm soil depth. SOC content was highest in the forest-meadow, followed by grassland, with the cultivated land having the lowest SOC (P < 0.05). In the 10 - 20 cm soil depth, the forest-meadow still had the highest SOC, but was followed by cultivated land, with grassland having the lowest SOC, but these differences were not statistically significant. In 20-100 cm layers, SOC in cultivated land was notablely higher than in grassland and forest meadow as a result of the long-term application of manure. In grassland and forest meadow, SOC consistently declined with increasing depth in the soil profile . In cultivated land, SOC values were highest at intermediate soil depth, and decreased significantly from 30cm to 100cm.