Soil quality variation and its driving factors within tropical forests on Hainan Island, China

Bibliographic Data

ID21648038
AuthorsRui Sun (0000-0002-0865-5066, Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Haikou 571101 PR China), Guoyu Lan (0000-0003-4019-4252, Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Haikou 571101 PR China, corresponding author), Chuan Yang (0009-0003-6158-9402, Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Haikou 571101 PR China), Zhixiang Wu (0000-0002-7344-8717, Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Haikou 571101 PR China), Bangqian Chen (0000-0003-0209-4285, Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Haikou 571101 PR China), Klaus Fraedrich (0000-0002-9881-0794, The Atmosphere in the Earth System Max Planck Institute for Meteorology 20146 Hamburg Germany)
Year2023
Volume34
Issue11
Pages3418-3432
Publication date2023-07-15
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLand Degradation and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ldr.4693
OpenAlexW4327575889
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited89

Soil quality is a critically important component of soil within ecosystems, and our understanding of soil quality variation and its driving factors in tropical forests is limited. This study collected soil samples at 0–20 cm depths from two typical tropical forests (tropical rainforest and rubber plantation) on Hainan Island, China's largest tropical island, during dry and rainy seasons. A soil quality index (SQI) using principal component analysis was applied to measure soil quality based on 21 soil properties. The soil properties' spatial and seasonal changes and their driving factors were simultaneously collected for a holistic analysis of the ecosystems. The results were summarized as follows: (i) The SQI of the rubber plantation decreased by 26.48% compared to the tropical rainforest on the island, while four soil properties investigated (soil pH, total phosphorus, cellulose decomposition, and actinomycetes) increased. (ii) The SQI of different soil types in the two tropical forests displayed an apparent discrepancy. Within the same soil type, the SQI of tropical rainforests showed no obvious differences, while there was a notable spatial discrepancy among rubber plantations in dispersed geographical positions belonging to varied climatic zones. (iii) The SQI of the tropical rainforest was significantly higher in the wet season than in the dry season. In contrast, there were no significant differences between the two seasons for rubber plantations, indicating that soil quality in the tropical rainforest was more sensitive to seasonal changes than soil quality in rubber plantations. Overall, we concluded that except for land use and soil type, spatial variability and seasonal pattern also played essential roles in soil quality on the tropical island. The results from the SQI are expected to provide novel information regarding the sustainable use of tropical forests on Hainan Island

Agroforestry · Biology · Dry season · Ecosystem · Geography · Rainforest · Soil Quality · Soil water · Tropical rainforest · Tropics · Wet season · Environmental Science · Heavy metals in environment · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics · Soil Geostatistics and Mapping · Ecology · Forestry · Soil Science

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