Abstract:
Objective The paper aimed to explore the influence mechanism of soil aggregate composition and stability on soil organic carbon storage and turnover.
Methods The soil of red earth generation layer in paddy fields with different slope sites in the typical red earth watershed of Sunjia in Yingtan, Jiangxi Province, was taken as the research object. The profile variation differences of mechanical stability aggregates (MSA), water stability aggregates (WSA) and soil organic carbon (SOC) content, percentage of aggregate disruption (PAD), mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean weight diameter (GMD) and fractal dimension (D) were analyzed. The correlations among those indices were discussed by means of structural equation model (SEM).
Result The proportion of MSA in each horizon of red earth in different slope sites was the highest in 10-5 mm (27.6%-87.6%), and the lowest in < 0.25 mm (1.59%-15.3%). The proportion of < 0.25 mm WSA was the highest (3.06%-70.1%), and the proportion of 5-2 mm WSA was the lowest (0.17%-20.4%). The SOC content of aggregate (SOCa) in pedogenic horizons of red paddy field decreased rapidly at first and then slowly with the increase of soil horizons depth. Among them, the contribution rate (7.53%-76.7%) of 2-0.25 mm SOCa to SOC is significantly higher than those of other size aggregates. The PAD, MWD, GMD and D all decreased first and then increased slowly with the increase of formation depth, but increased significantly with the decrease of slope site. The analysis of SEM showed that soil pH, free Fe/Al oxide content and WSA proportion were the important factors affecting SOC in paddy red earth.
Conclusion The aggregate stability and SOC content of each horizon in the typical paddy field in Sunjia small watershed are mainly affected by soil depth and slope site, that is, the increase of horizon depth significantly reduces the aggregate stability and SOC content. This result can provide a scientific basis for the management of soil organic carbon pool in the profile of sloping paddy field.