Jiang Ye-Feng, Guo Xi, Sun Kai, Rao Lei, Li Jie, Wang Lan-Ke, Ye Ying-Cong, Li Wei-Feng
Academy of Land Resource and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Watershed Agricultural Resources and Ecology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330045, China.
Huan Jing Ke Xue. 2017 Sep 8;38(9):3840-3850. doi: 10.13227/j.hjkx.201702193.
Spatial variability of soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N) at the provincial scale was analyzed using ordinary kriging methods. The effects of the factors influencing C/N were quantified by regression analysis based on 16,582 points of surface soil samples (0-20 cm) collected during the project of soil-test-based formulated fertilization in Jiangxi Province in 2012. The results showed that soil C/N ranged from 2.98 to 52.67, with an average of 11.72. The coefficient of variation was 25.17%, suggesting moderate variability. The nugget-to-sill ratio was 88.44%, meaning that the stochastic factors played a more important role in the spatial variability of soil C/N between the structural and stochastic factors. The spatial distribution of soil C/N was relatively smooth and the high-value areas were mainly distributed in Pengze County-Jiujiang City, Shangli County-Pingxiang City, and Lean County-Fuzhou City. The terrain factors, farmland-use type, parent material, soil type, and the level of nitrogen fertilizer had significant impacts on the spatial variability of soil C/N (<0.05), but the degree of influence was different for each factor. Soil C/N indicated a significant positive Pearson's correlation with elevation and the slope of slope (<0.05). The terrain factors explained 0.3% of the spatial variability of soil C/N and the farmland-use could explain 1.4%. The explanatory power of soil groups, subgroups, and soil family were 2.7%, 3.6%, and 5.5% respectively. The level of nitrogen fertilizer could explain 33.4% of the spatial variability of soil C/N, which showed that the amount of nitrogen fertilizer was the main factor that controls the spatial distribution of soil C/N.