Empirical modelling of soil dynamics along a chronosequence of shifting cultivation systems in southern Cameroon.

摘要

Models are simplified representations of a system, in this study the dynamic behaviour of soil properties in shifting cultivation systems in southern Cameroon. Soils were sampled synchronically from plots representing a chronosequence (from 0 to more than 30 years) of these land-use systems and also diachronically from the same plots over 7 years. The five soil properties (pH water, exchangeable calcium, available P, organic C and bulk density) that had been identified in a previous study as the most sensitive to these land-use systems were modelled. Linear/quadratic fractional rational functions were fitted to the synchronic series using nonlinear least squares. These functions were used to compute three metrics describing soil behaviour over time