Spatial variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) of different land use patterns and soil types was examined in a county-wide red soil region of South China,using six sampling densities,14,34,68,130,255,and 525 samples designed by the method of grid sampling in 6 different grid sizes,labeled as D14,D34,D68,D130,D255,and D525,respectively.The results showed that the coefficients of variation (CVs) of SOC decreased gradually from 62.8% to 47.4% with the increase in soil sampling densities.The SOC CVs in the paddy field change slightly from 30.8% to 28.7%,while those of the dry farmland and forest land decreased remarkably from 58.1% to 48.7% and from 99.3% to 64.4%,respectively.The SOC CVs of the paddy soil change slightly,while those of red soil decreased remarkably from 82.8% to 63.9%.About 604,500,and 353 (P < 0.05) samples would be needed a number of years later if the SOC change was supposedly 1.52 g kg-1,based on the CVs of SOC acquired from the present sampling densities of D14,D68,and D525,respectively.Moreover,based on the same SOC change and the present time CVs at D255,the ratio of samples needed for paddy field,dry farmland,and forest land should be 1:0.81:3.33,while the actual corresponding ratio in an equal interval grid sampling was 1:0.74:0.46.These indicated that the sampling density had important effect on the detection of SOC variability in the county-wide region,the equal interval grid sampling was not efficient enough,and the respective CV of each land use or soil type should be fully considered when determining the sampling number in the future.
Soil salinity and hydrologic datasets were assembled to analyze the spatio-temporal variability of salinization in Fengqiu County, Henan Province, China, in the alluvial plain of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. The saline soil and groundwater depth data of the county in 1981 were obtained to serve as a historical reference. Electrical conductivity (EC) of 293 surface soil samples taken from 2 km × 2 km grids in 2007 and 40 soil profiles acquired in 2008 was analyzed and used for comparative mapping. Ordinary kriging was applied to predict EC at unobserved locations to derive the horizontal and vertical distribution patterns and variation of soil salinity. Groundwater table data from 22 observation wells in 2008 were collected and used as input for regression kriging to predict the maximum groundwater depth of the county in 2008. Changes in the groundwater level of Fengqiu County in 27 years from 1981 to 2008 was calculated. Two quantitative criteria, the mean error or bias (ME) and the mean squared error (MSE), were computed to assess the estimation accuracy of the kriging predictions. The results demonstrated that the soil salinity in the upper soil layers decreased dramatically and the taxonomically defined saline soils were present only in a few micro-landscapes after 27 years. Presently, the soils with relatively elevated salt content were mainly distributed in depressions along the Yellow River bed. The reduction in surface soil salinity corresponded to the locations with deepened maximum groundwater depth. It could be concluded that groundwater table recession allowed water to move deeper into the soil profile, transporting salts with it, and thus played an important role in reducing soil salinity in this region. Accumulation of salts in the soil profiles at various depths below the surface indicated that secondary soil salinization would occur when the groundwater was not controlled at a safe depth.
LI Kai-LiCHEN JieTAN Man-ZhiZHAO Bing-ZiMI Shu-XiaoSHI Xue-Zheng
