JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2023, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (3): 182-190.doi: 10.12302/j.issn.1000-2006.202112044

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Surface soil fertility quality evaluation of green land in the Summer Palace

GE Yue1(), LIU Yueqiu1,*(), CONG Yipeng2,*(), HU Zhenyuan3, FENG Jianing1   

  1. 1. College of Landscape Architecture, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China
    2. Beijing Zoo, Beijing 100044, China
    3. The Summer Palace Management Office, Beijing 100091, China
  • Received:2021-12-28 Revised:2022-10-20 Online:2023-05-30 Published:2023-05-25
  • Contact: LIU Yueqiu,CONG Yipeng E-mail:769473290@qq.com;liuyueqiu@bua.edu.cn;congyipeng@sina.com

Abstract:

【Objective】As a famous royal garden and world cultural heritage site, monitoring and evaluating the soil quality of the Summer Palace is of great significance for maintaining and protecting the health and safety of the park ecosystem.【Method】In this study, soil surface (0-20 cm) samples from a representative vegetation coverage area in the Summer Palace were collected, and 11 evaluation indices: soil bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity, the content of the soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, and bacterial diversity were measured. The minimum data set was established using a principal component analysis, and the soil quality index was calculated using the membership function value and weight assignment method. The soil fertility quality of different vegetation coverage areas was analyzed and evaluated through a linear correlation analysis of the soil quality index of the total and minimum data sets.【Result】Using the principal component analysis method, the indices finally entered the minimum data set were total phosphorus content, electrical conductivity, bulk density, and the Shannon index. There was a significant positive correlation between the soil quality index calculated using the total and minimum data sets, and R2 was 0.877. The soil quality of the Summer Palace was divided into three levels: the soil quality of peony planting land was good (SQI≥0.80); the soil quality of deciduous broad-leaved forest, perennial flower land, and wild shrub and grass clusters was medium (0.40≤SQI<0.80); and the soil quality of trampled lawn and mixed conifer-broad-leaved forest was poor (0.20<SQI<0.40). The soil in the park was generally neutral to alkaline (pH 6.83 and 8.71), and the organic matter content was generally low (the average value was between 8.83 and 17.06 g/kg). The spatial distribution of available phosphorus was extremely unbalanced, with a coefficient of variation of 161.55%, and 76.00% of the samples were extremely deficient.【Conclusion】Human disturbance had a significant impact on the soil quality of the Summer Palace. Owing to the application of chemical fertilizers, the soil quality index in the peony planting land was high, and the soil quality in other areas was medium to low. The soil organic matter content in the park was low, and the spatial distribution of alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and available phosphorus was unbalanced. It is suggested that soil quality can be improved by retaining litter and applying organic and phosphorus fertilizers.

Key words: the Summer Palace, green land, soil fertility, quality evaluation, vegetation, minimum data set, soil quality index, membership function value

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