Multifractal dimensions of soil particle size distribution reveal the erodibility and fertility of alpine grassland soils in the Northern Tibet Plateau

Xiangtao Wang; Lei Sun; Ningning Zhao; Wencheng Li; Xuehong Wei; Ben Niu

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115145

Multifractal dimensions of soil particle size distribution reveal the erodibility and fertility of alpine grassland soils in the Northern Tibet Plateau

J Environ Manage. 2022 Aug 1:315:115145. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115145. Epub 2022 May 4.

Authors

Xiangtao Wang¹, Lei Sun², Ningning Zhao², Wencheng Li², Xuehong Wei³, Ben Niu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Sciences, Xizang Agriculture and Animal Husbandry College, Linzhi, 860000, China; Lhasa National Ecological Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing, 100049, China.
² Department of Animal Sciences, Xizang Agriculture and Animal Husbandry College, Linzhi, 860000, China.
³ Department of Animal Sciences, Xizang Agriculture and Animal Husbandry College, Linzhi, 860000, China. Electronic address: weixuehong@21cn.com.
⁴ Lhasa National Ecological Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: niub.12s@igsnrr.ac.cn.

PMID: 35525043
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115145

Abstract

Climate change and human activities have seriously degraded alpine grassland, potentially affecting soil particle size distribution (PSD) and further influencing the nutrient levels and erodibility of soil. Predicting the fertility and erodibility of alpine soil using multifractal dimensions of soil PSD could be used to enhance the management and restoration of degraded alpine grasslands. In the present study, we evaluated three types of alpine grasslands: alpine meadow (AM), alpine steppe (AS), and alpine desert steppe (ADS). Fencing and grazing management measures were conducted at sites containing each grassland type. Then, we analyzed the PSDs, erodibility, and other properties of soil in the 0-20 cm soil layer. Multifractal characterization of soil PSD was calculated using the fractal scale theory. The findings showed that grassland type significantly impacted soil nutrients and the multifractal dimensions of soil PSDs, whereas management measures affected soil erodibility significantly. The proportion of finer particles decreased as follows: AM > AS > ADS. Compared to grazing, fencing enhanced clay content and reduced the proportion of coarser particles under all three grassland types. AM had higher organic carbon and nitrogen levels than AS and ADS. Multifractal dimensions were highest for AM, with ADS having higher erodibility than AM and AS. Multifractal dimensions (except for correlation dimension) also had significantly positive relationships with soil organic carbon and available nutrient content and soil erodibility, but had significantly negative correlations with soil pH, bulk density, and electrical conductivity. Thus, the multifractal dimensions of soil PSDs could be used to characterize the erodibility and fertility characteristics of soil in alpine regions, providing a reference for assessing vegetation restoration measures in the Northern Tibet Plateau.

Keywords: Alpine grassland; Fencing and grazing; Multifractal analysis; Northern Tibet Plateau; Soil erodibility.

MeSH terms

Carbon / analysis
Fertility
Grassland*
Humans
Particle Size
Soil* / chemistry
Tibet

Substances

Soil
Carbon