Soil quality integrates soil physical, chemical and biological properties into a framework for land resource assessment. Soil quality evaluation is essential for environmental change and environmental stability during vegetation restoration in small watershed of the loess plateau. It is primary to scientifically establish the proper indicators for soil quality evaluation, which is directly related to the objectivity of results in soil quality assessment. Our objective was to select soil index within these properties that can be used as soil quality indicators for small watershed-scale evaluation. 156 soil samples representing five land use types in Zhifanggou watershed of the Loess hilly and gully region were sampled from the sampling unit map of the small watershed and analyzed for 20 soil properties by means of the factor analysis and regression analysis. The results showed that six soil quality factors were summed up from 20 soil properties. Except clay factor, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium texture and protease factors were significantly different between land use types. Organic matter, bulk density, total N, available P. total K and CaC03 were selected as the most important indicators of soil quality evaluation in loess hilly and gully region at small watershed-scale.
Soil quality Small watershed Loess hilly and gully region
Qingxin Liu Jinxin Zhang Faqi Wu Ping Meng Jinsong Zhang Haibin Liu Xingmin Mu Qi Lu
College of Resource and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 7 12100, China;Research Inst College of Resource and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 7 12100, China;Institute of College of Resource and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 7 12100, China Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yangling 712100, China Institute of Desertification, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China