PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
As a natural ecological fragile region, the vast desert steppe in the Inner Mongolia has a developed animal husbandry, and thus posed great impacts on soil quality. In order to accurately evaluate the current situation of soil quality in the desert steppe, it is therefore imperative to adopt a suitable method to effectively assess the soil quality in the region. In this study, the minimum data set (MDS) was established with the help of principal component analysis, Norm value calculation, and correlation analysis, and four indicators, including organic matter, sand grains, soil erosion degree, and pH, were established to evaluate the soil quality of the desert steppe in the Siziwang Banner, a county in the Inner Mongolia. The results from the minimum data set (MDS) method were validated based on the total data set (TDS) method, and the validation indicated that the MDS method can be representative of the soil quality of the study area. The results indicated: 1) the soil quality index (SQI) of 0-30 cm in more than 90% of the study area falls in the range of 0.4 and 0.6 (medium level), while the better level (SQI ≥0.6) only accounted less than 10% of the study area; 2) For the MDS indexes, soil organic matter content at all depths decreased in the southern mountains, central hills, and northern plateau, which is consistent with the changing trends of SQI; 3) The sand grain was the dominant particle in the study region, which was in accordance with the intense wind erosion; 4) The negative correlation was found between the soil pH value and SQI (the high value in pH corresponded to the low value in SQI), which reflected that soil pH has a more stressful effect on the local vegetation. Overall, the MDS indexes in this study can objectively and practically reflect the soil quality in the study area, which can provide a cost effective method for SQI assessment in the desert steppe, which is important for the further grassland ecological construction and grassland management to improve the soil quality in the desert steppes.
摘要：
作为一个自然生态脆弱的地区,内蒙古辽阔的荒漠草原，畜牧业发达，从而对土壤质量产生了很大的影响。为了准确评价荒漠草原土壤质量现状,因此，必须采用合适的方法来有效评估该地区的土壤质量。在这项研究中,最小数据集(MDS)是在主成分分析的帮助下建立的，规范值计算，和相关分析，和四个指标，包括有机物,沙粒,土壤侵蚀程度,pH值,为评价四子王旗荒漠草原的土壤质量而建立，内蒙古的一个县。基于总数据集(TDS)方法验证了最小数据集(MDS)方法的结果，验证表明，MDS方法可以代表研究区的土壤质量。结果表明:1)90%以上研究区0-30厘米的土壤质量指数(SQI)落在0.4-0.6(中等水平)的范围内,而较好的水平(SQI≥0.6)仅占研究区域的10%以下；2)对于MDS指标，南部山区所有深度的土壤有机质含量都有所下降，中央山丘,和北部高原，这与SQI的变化趋势一致；3)砂粒是研究区域的主要颗粒，与强烈的风蚀一致；4）土壤pH值与SQI呈负相关（pH值高与SQI值低相对应），这反映了土壤pH值对当地植被的压力影响更大。总的来说,本研究的MDS指标能够客观、实际地反映研究区土壤质量,为荒漠草原SQI评估提供了一种经济有效的方法，这对于进一步的草地生态建设和草地管理，改善荒漠草原土壤质量具有重要意义。
