Changes of soil particle size distribution in tidal flats in the Yellow River Delta

Xiaofei Lyu; Junbao Yu; Mo Zhou; Bin Ma; Guangmei Wang; Chao Zhan; Guangxuan Han; Bo Guan; Huifeng Wu; Yunzhao Li; De Wang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0121368

Changes of soil particle size distribution in tidal flats in the Yellow River Delta

PLoS One. 2015 Mar 27;10(3):e0121368. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121368. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Xiaofei Lyu¹, Junbao Yu², Mo Zhou³, Bin Ma², Guangmei Wang¹, Chao Zhan¹, Guangxuan Han², Bo Guan², Huifeng Wu², Yunzhao Li², De Wang²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, YICCAS, Yantai, Shandong, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Beijing, China.
² Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, YICCAS, Yantai, Shandong, China.
³ Environment College, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, P. R. China.

Abstract

Background: The tidal flat is one of the important components of coastal wetland systems in the Yellow River Delta (YRD). It can stabilize shorelines and protect coastal biodiversity. The erosion risk in tidal flats in coastal wetlands was seldom been studied. Characterizing changes of soil particle size distribution (PSD) is an important way to quantity soil erosion in tidal flats.

Method/principal findings: Based on the fractal scale theory and network analysis, we determined the fractal characterizations (singular fractal dimension and multifractal dimension) soil PSD in a successional series of tidal flats in a coastal wetland in the YRD in eastern China. The results showed that the major soil texture was from silt loam to sandy loam. The values of fractal dimensions, ranging from 2.35 to 2.55, decreased from the low tidal flat to the high tidal flat. We also found that the percent of particles with size ranging between 0.4 and 126 μm was related with fractal dimensions. Tide played a great effort on soil PSD than vegetation by increasing soil organic matter (SOM) content and salinity in the coastal wetland in the YRD.

Conclusions/significance: Tidal flats in coastal wetlands in the YRD, especially low tidal flats, are facing the risk of soil erosion. This study will be essential to provide a firm basis for the coast erosion control and assessment, as well as wetland ecosystem restoration.

MeSH terms

China
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Fractals
Particle Size
Rivers
Soil / chemistry*
Tidal Waves*
Wetlands

Substances

Soil

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Project of National Science & Technology Pillar Program in “12th Five Year’’ period (2011BAC02B01), National Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholar of Shandong Province (No.JQ201114), and the National Science Foundation of China (41301333). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.