Spatial heterogeneity of soil available medium- and micro-elements in evergreen-deciduous broadleaved forest in karst.

Understanding the spatial heterogeneity of soil available medium- and micro-elements in karst area can provide a valuable theoretical guideline for soil nutrient management of karst ecosystem. We collected soil samples at a soil depth of 0-10 cm using grid sampling (20 m×20 m) in a 25 hm2 (500 m×500 m) dynamic monitoring plot. We further analyzed the spatial variability of soil medium- and micro-elements and their drivers, with classic statistics analysis and geo-statistics analysis. The results showed that the average contents of exchangeable Ca and Mg and available Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and B were 7870, 1490, 30.24, 149.12, 1.77, 13.54, and 0.65 mg·kg-1, respectively. The coefficient of variation of the nutrients ranged from 34.5% to 68.8%, showing a medium degree of their spatial variation. The coefficient of determination of the best-fit semi-variogram models of each nutrient was higher than 0.90, except for available Zn (0.78), indicating a strong predictive power for the spatial variation of the nutrients. The nugget coefficients for all the nutrients were less than 50%, showing a moderate spatial correlation, and the structural factors played a pivotal role. The spatially autocorrelated variation was within the range of 60.3-485.1 m, among which available Zn showed the lowest range and the deepest fragmentation degree. The spatial distribution of exchangeable Ca, Mg, and available B were consistent, with contents in the depression being significantly lower than that in other habitats. The contents of available Fe, Mn, and Cu declined with the increases of altitude and were significantly lower on the hilltop than in other habitats. The spatial variation of soil medium- and micro-elements was closely related to topographic factors in karst forest. Elevation, slope, soil thickness, and rock exposure rate were the primary drivers of spatial variation of soil elements and need to be considered in soil nutrient management of karst forestlands.

[Effects of tree mortality on the spatial patterns and interspecific associations of individuals in karst evergreen deciduous broad-leaved mixed forests]. / å–€æ–¯ç‰¹å¸¸ç»¿è½å¶é˜”å¶æž—ä¸ªä½“æ­»äº¡å¯¹ç©ºé—´æ ¼å±€åŠç§é—´å ³è”æ€§çš„å½±å“.

Tree mortality is an important ecological process in forests. It is crucial to understand how tree mortality affects spatial patterns and interspecific associations for revealing the mechanisms of tree mortality and community dynamics. We employed the correlation method of spatial point pattern analysis to analyse the variations in spatial patterns and interspecific relations before and after mortality using data obtained from two surveys of a 25 hm2 plot in the Mulun National Natural Reserve, China. The results showed that most species had an aggregated distribution both pre- and post-mortality. The proportion of species with aggregated distribution reduced slightly post-mortality compared with that for pre-mortality. Increases in the number of species with random distribution at small scale indicated that tree death was not random. At the species level, there were significant positive associations between dead and live trees of the 13 common species at different levels of 0-30 m range, suggesting weak intraspecific and interspecific competition among dominant species. Pre- and post-mortality interspecific associations were mostly positive, which remained stable during the period of two surveys for most species, indicating that the community had reached a rather stable stage. Following tree mortality, the number of species with positive associations increased at 1-30 m scales, whereas the number of species with negative and no associations decreased at most scales. These results indicated that the pressure of interspecific competition was relieved to some extent after individual death.

[Emergy analysis of four typical planting modes in Karst faulted basins of Yunnan Province, China.] / 云南断陷盆地喀斯特4ç§å ¸åž‹ç§æ¤æ¨¡å¼çš„èƒ½å€¼åˆ†æž.

Accurate evaluation of typical cropping patterns in faulted basins can provide scientific guidance for planting in the area. The planting modes of marigold, pomegranate, pomegranate+grass+sheep in Mengzi City of Yunnan Province were compared with the traditional corn planting mode. The ecological benefits and economy benefits of these rocky desertification control modes were analyzed by the method of emergy analysis. The environmental loading ratio (ELR) and emergy restoration ratio (ERR) were 13.80 and 0.41 in pomegranate planting mode, respectively, while 0.30 and -2.87 in marigold planting mode. The ecological benefits in pomegranate planting mode and marigold planting mode were lower than that of corn, and ELR and ERR were 1.30 and 4.64, respectively. However, the economic pure benefit per unit (EPBU) in pomegranate planting mode and marigold planting mode were 3.05 and 59.98 times of that in corn mode, respectively, indicating that pomegranate planting mode and marigold panting mode had higher economic benefits than that of corn. Pomegranate+pasture+sheep mode had the highest ecological and economic benefits among the four modes. The plus of forage+livestock subsystem to pomegranate planting mode had high eco-efficiency (ELR of 4.95, ERR of 0.63) and economic benefit (EPBU of 71.38 times than that of corn). Thus, we recommend that the local government should increase technical support for marigold planting mode and pomegranate+pasture+sheep mode, which including optimizing structures of fertilizer input, and crop cultivation and livestock breeding processes. Meanwhile, government could establish short-term labor markets for picking of fruits and flowers.

[Biomass and morphological characteristics of fine roots and their affecting factors in diffe-rent vegetation restoration stages in depressions between karst hills]. / å–€æ–¯ç‰¹å³°ä¸›æ´¼åœ°ä¸åŒæ¤è¢«æ¢å¤é˜¶æ®µç»†æ ¹ç”Ÿç‰©é‡ã€å½¢æ€ç‰¹å¾åŠå ¶å½±å“å› ç´ .

This study focused on four vegetation restoration stages of grasslands, shrublands, secondary forests and primary forests in the typical karst peak-cluster depression. The soil core method was used to collect fine roots with 2 mm or less in diameter in three layers (0-10, 10-20, 20-30 cm). The biomass, morphological characteristics of fine roots and their relationship with soil properties were analyzed. The results showed that fine root biomass ranged between 194.63 and 255.19 g·cm-2 in different vegetation restoration stages. Most of fine roots distributed in the surface soil of 0-10 cm, which accounted for more than 60% of the total biomass in the soil layer of 0-30 cm. No significant difference was found among different stages in fine root biomass. There was significant difference among different stages in the specific root length and specific surface area of fine roots. Both parameters were gradually decreased with vegetation forward restoration from grassland to primary forest. More than 66% root length and 64% root area were distributed in the surface soil of 0-10 cm. The length and area of most of the fine root were in the diameter class of 0-0.5 mm and 0.5-1mm, respectively. These two levels of the root length and root area accounted for more than 87% and 72% of the total amount, respectively. Results from the redundancy analysis showed that there were different correlations between karst peak-cluster depression vegetation community characteristics and soil properties, with soil organic carbon, available potassium, and total nitrogen having a great influence on the characteristics of fine roots. It is an effective strategy for plants to better adapt to the habitats.

[Carbon storage and its allocation in karst forest at different stand ages in Guangxi, China]. / å¹¿è¥¿ä¸åŒæž—é¾„å–€æ–¯ç‰¹æ£®æž—ç”Ÿæ€ç³»ç»Ÿç¢³å‚¨é‡åŠå ¶åˆ†é æ ¼å±€.

Based on a survey of 45 plots (1000 m2 each) of five different stand ages, i.e., young, middle-aged, pre-mature, mature, and over-mature plantations in the main production area of karst forest in Guangxi, carbon (C) storage and its allocation in vegetation and soil were studied. The results showed that the carbon storage of karst plantations in Guangxi changed in an increasing order of young plantation (86.03 t·hm-2), near-mature plantation (110.63 t·hm-2), middle-aged plantation (112.11 t·hm-2), mature plantation (149.1 t·hm-2), and then over-mature plantation (244.38 t·hm-2). The carbon storage distribution varied in both different vegetation la-yers and different stand ages. Tree layer was found to store the greatest amount of carbon by accounting for up to 92.3%-98.7% of total vegetation carbon. The proportion of carbon stored in the tree layer increased with stand age. The proportions of carbon stored in the shrub layer, herb layer, litter and root were 0.3%-1.9%, 0.3%-1.2%, 0.3%-2.5% and 0.3%-3.3%, respectively. Soil organic carbon density decreased as soil depth increased. The soil organic carbon storage over the whole soil profile ranged from 51.75 t·hm-2 to 81.21 t·hm-2. The proportion of soil organic carbon in total ecosystem carbon in karst forest ranged from 33.2% to 66.2%, which decreased with stand age. The carbon storage for aboveground and underground parts were 22.80-141.72 t·hm-2 and 62.30-102.66 t·hm-2, respectively. Total ecosystem carbon storage was greater in underground part than in aboveground part except mature plantation. The carbon storage in aboveground part carbon increased with stand age but that in underground part changed insignificantly with the carbon storage of soil. The soil and tree layer were the major carbon pools of the forest ecosystems in the karst region, and the sum of carbon stored in soil and tree accounted for more than 96% of total ecosystem carbon storage.

[Carbon storage and allocation in Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations with different stand ages.] / ä¸åŒæž—é¾„æ‰æœ¨äººå·¥æž—ç¢³å‚¨é‡åŠå ¶åˆ†é æ ¼å±€.

Based on survey of 45 plots (1000 m2 each) of five different stand ages, i.e., young, middle-aged, pre-mature, mature, and over-mature plantations, in the main production area of Cunninghamia lanceolata in the north of Guangxi, China, carbon (C) storage and its allocation in vegetation and soil were studied. The results showed that total carbon storage of C. lanceolata plantations changed in the order of over-mature plantation (345.59 t·hm-2) > mature plantation (331.14 t·hm-2) > pre-mature plantation (299.11 t·hm-2) > young plantation (187.60 t·hm-2) > middle-aged plantation (182.81 t·hm-2). For all the stand ages, soil stored the greatest amount of carbon, C pool in vegetation layer was the second, while C storage in the litter layer was lowest. On average, C storage in belowground layer was greater than that in aboveground layer. Carbon storage in aboveground vegetation layer ranged from 34.80 to 134.55 t·hm-2, which contributed 18.6% to 38.9% to the total ecosystem carbon storage and increased with ages. Carbon storage in the litter layer ranged from 1.26 to 2.07 t·hm-2, which only contributed 0.4%-1.1% to the total ecosystem carbon storage. Carbon storage in the soil layer ranged from 149.24 to 206.02 t·hm-2 and represented 61.9%-80.0% of ecosystem carbon storage. Canopy layer stored the highest amount of carbon (33.51-133.7 t·hm-2) and comprised 92.8%-98.9% of aboveground vegetation carbon storage. Within the canopy layer, carbon storage differed with compartments. Stems stored the highest amount of carbon (20.98-95.68 t·hm-2) by accounting for 62.6%-72.6% of carbon storage in the canopy layer, which increased with ages. The branches and leaves accounted for 4.8%-11.0% and 11.1%-14.2% of C stored in the canopy layer, respectively, which all decreased with ages, while increased to some extent in the over-mature plantation. Roots occupied 11.3%-12.3% of carbon storage in the canopy layer with small fluctuation with the stand age.

[Soil fertility characteristics under different land use patterns in depressions between karst hills].

Soil samples were collected from the depressions between karst hills by grid sampling method (5 m x 5 m), soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK) in surface layer (0-20 cm) under different land use patterns (burning, cutting, cutting plus root removal, enclosure, maize plantation, and pasture plantation) were measured, the main factors of influencing the soil fertility was identified by principal component analysis (PCA), and the relationships between soil nutrients and microorganisms were demonstrated by canonical correlation analysis (CCA). The results showed that the soil was slightly alkaline (pH 7.83-7.98), and the soil fertility differed under the different land use patterns, with 76.78-116.05 g x kg(-1) of SOC, 4.29-6.23 g x kg(-1) of TN, 1.15-1.47 g x kg(-1) of TP, 3.59-6.05 g x kg(-1) of TK, 331.49-505.49 mg x kg(-1) of AN), 3.92-10.91 mg x kg(-1) of AP, and 136.28-198.10 mg x kg(-1) of AK. These soil indexes except pH showed moderate or strong variation. Different land use patterns had various impacts on soil fertility: Soil nutrients such as SOC, TN, TP, and AN were most significantly influenced by land use patterns in the depressions between karst hills; Followed by soil microorganisms, especially soil actinomycetes, and the effect decreased with the increasing gradient of human disturbance from enclosure, burning, cutting, cutting plus root removal, pasture plantation, and maize plantation. CCA elucidated that considerable interactions existed in soil TP with MBP (microbial biomass phosphorus), TK with MBC (microbial biomass carbon), TN with actinomycetes in the burned area, while TN and MBC in the cutting treatment, AP and MBN (microbial biomass nitrogen) in the treatment of cutting plus root removal, pH with MBC and fungus in the enclosure treatment, TN and TK with MBP in the maize plantation, pH with fungi and actinomycetes in the pasture plantation. Land use patterns changed the soil fertility in the depressions between karst hills; therefore, in the ecological restoration and reconstruction of karst region with fragmented landforms and shallow soil, rational land use patterns should be adopted to improve the soil quality of degraded ecosystems.

[Stoichiometric characteristics of plant and soil C, N and P in different forest types in depressions between karst hills, southwest China].

The stoichiometric properties of plant carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and their relationships with soil were studied in six dominant plant communities in three forest types, i.e., plantation forest, secondary forest and primary forest in depressions between karst hills, southwest China. The C, N and P contents of both plant and soil had significant differences among the different forest types. Soil C and N contents were the highest in the secondary forest and the lowest in the plantation forest. Soil P content was the highest in the plantation forest and the lowest in the primary forest. Plant C and P contents were in the order of plantation forest > primary forest > secondary forest, and plant N content was the highest in the plantation forest and the lowest in the primary forest. Soil N:P,C:P and plant C:P ratios were significantly higher in the primary forest than in the other two forest types. There were no significant difference for the soil C:N ratio among the three forest types. Plant N:P ratio was the highest in the secondary forest and the lowest in the plantation forest. Plant C:N ratio was in the order of primary forest > plantation forest > secondary forest. There were significantly positive linear correlations between N and P contents, C:N and C:P ratios, C:P and N:P ratios of arbor leaves in the different forest types, and significant negative linear correlations between plant C:N and N:P ratios, and between soil C:N and N:P ratios. There were no significant correlations between plant and soil C, N, P contents and C:P ratio, suggesting that the supply of C, N and P from soil had little influence on plant C, N and P contents.

[Stability and organic carbon characteristics of soil aggregates under different ecosystems in karst canyon region].

Soil aggregates and their organic carbon distributions were studied under six ecosystems, i. e., farmland (short for ST), dry land (HD), grassland (CD), shrubbery (GC), plantation (RGL) and secondary forest (CSL), in a karst canyon region of China by a combination of field investigation and laboratory analysis. The result showed that, soil aggregates were dominated by particles with sizes>8 mm in the ecosystems except HD under dry sieving, and basically presented a trend of decreasing firstly, then increasing and finally decreasing along with particle sizes decreasing; while soil aggregates were dominated by particles with sizes > 5 mm in the ecosystems except HD under wet sieving and decreased with decreasing of particle sizes. The mean mass diameter (MMD) was in the order of ST>CD>RGL>CSL>GC>HD and the geometric mean diameter (GMD) was ST>CD>RGL>CSL>HD>GC by dry sieving, and MMD was RGL>CSL>GC>CD>ST>HD and GMD was CSL>RGL>GC>CD>ST>HD by wet sieving. Therefore, MMD and especially GMD of wet sieving were more accurate than that of dry sieving to evaluate soil aggregates quality in the karst cannon region. The fractal dimension (D) of mechanical stability in soil aggregates followed the order of CD>HD>ST>RGL>CSL>GC and the water stability was in the order of GC>CSL>RGL>HD> CD>ST. The higher the SOC content was, the larger values of D, MMD, GMD became, and the more sense the soil structure made. Soil organic carbon content was highest in the aggregate particles with sizes ranging from 0.25 to 0.053 mm, and the content in some particles with sizes > 5 mm was lowest. However, the contribution rate of particles with sizes > 5 mm was largest to soil organic carbon, which gradually decreased with the decrease of particle size.

[Characteristics of spatial variation of soil nutrients in sloping field in a gorge karst region, southwest China].

Based on a grid (20 m x 20 m) sampling, spatial heterogeneity and pattern of soil nutrients in sloping field in the gorge karst region, southwestern China, were explored by using classical statistics and geostatistics methods. The results showed that soil nutrient contents in slope field in the canyon karst region were more abundant, where pH value had a weak variation and the soil organic matter (SOM) had a moderate degree of variation. All the soil nutrients had moderate or strong variation with an order of available phosphorus (AP) > total potassium (TK) > SOM > alkaline nitrogen (AN) > total nitrogen (TN) > total phosphorus (TP) > available potassium (AK). All of the soil nutrients had a good spatial autocorrelation and the autocorrelation function performed in the same law of developing from positive to negative direction with the inflection point ranged from 80 to 100 m. In addition, the Moran's I was small for TK and AP while large for other nutrients. Characteristics of spatial variation differed among soil nutrients. Exponential model fitted best for TK and AP, in which the ratio of nugget to sill (C0/(C0 + C)) and the range (A) were small and the fractal dimension (D) was high, showed a strong spatial correlation. Spherical model fitted best for other soil nutrients, with C0/(C0 + C) , the range (A) and D showing a moderate autocorrelation. Kriging analysis clearly indicated that pH, SOM, TN, TP and AN were distributed in a concave pattern, while AP and AK had fragmented patch distribution. Therefore, vegetation, topography, human disturbance and strong heterogeneity of microhabitats are main factors leading to the differences in patterns of soil nutrients on the sloping land in the gorge karst region.

[Spatial heterogeneity of surface soil mineral components in a small catchment in Karst peak-cluster depression area, South China].

A total of 163 soil samples (0-20 cm layer) were collected from the grid sampling plots (80 m x 80 m) in Huanjiang Observation and Research Station of Karst Ecosystem in a small catchment in Karst cluster-peak depression area, South China. By using classical statistics and geostatistics, the spatial heterogeneity of mineral components (SiO2, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, Al2O3, MnO, and TiO2) in the soils were studied. The contents of the seven soil mineral components in the study area differed greatly, being in the order of SiO2 > Al2O3 > CaO > MgO > Fe2O3 > TiO2 > MnO, and the variance coefficients also varied obviously, in the order of CaO > MgO > Fe2O3 > TiO2 > SiO2 > Al2O3 > MnO. The seven mineral components accounted for 69.4% of the total soil mass. The spatial patterns and the fittest models of the seven soil mineral components differed from each other. All the seven soil mineral components had a strong spatial autocorrelation, with shorter variation ranges and stronger spatial dependence. The Kriging contour maps indicated that the distribution patterns of soil SiO2, Fe2O3, Al2O3, MnO, and TiO2 were similar, being higher in south and east, lower in north and west, higher in depression, and lower in slope, while the distribution patterns of soil CaO and MgO were in adverse. Natural conditions (vegetation, bare rock rate, slope degree, and slope aspect, etc. ) and human disturbance were the most important factors affecting the spatial patterns of the soil mineral components.

[Characteristics of soil microbial populations in depressions between karst hills under different land use patterns].

Based on the investigation and analysis of six soil microbial indices, eight soil conventional nutrient indices, six soil mineral nutrient indices, and 15 vegetation indices in the farmland, grassland, scrub, forest plantation, secondary forest, and primary forest in the depressions between karst hills, this paper analyzed the main soil microbial populations, soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), nitrogen (MBN), and phosphorus (MBP) and their fractal characteristics, and the relationships of the soil microbes with vegetation, soil nutrients, and soil mineral components under different land use patterns. The soil microbial populations differed in their quantity and composition under different land use patterns. Primary forest and farmland had the highest quantity of soil microbial populations, while forest plantation had the lowest one. The three forests had a higher proportion of soil bacteria, the farmland, grassland, and scrub had a higher proportion of actinomycetes, and all the six land use patterns had a low proportion of soil fungi. Under the six land use patterns, the soil MBC, MBN, and MBP were all high, with the maximum in primary forest. There was a good fractal relationship between the soil MBC and microbial populations, but no fractal relationships between the soil MBN and MBP and the microbial populations. Significant relationships were observed between the soil microbes and the vegetation, soil nutrients, and soil mineral components, and the soil MBC had the closest relationships with the Shannon index of tree layer and the soil total nitrogen, Fe2O3, and CaO contents.

[Profile distribution of soil aggregates organic carbon in primary forests in Karst cluster-peak depression region].

Soil profiles were collected from three primary forests (Itoa orientalis, Platycladus orientalis, and Radermachera sinica) in Karst cluster-peak depression region to study the composition of soil aggregates, their organic carbon contents, and the profile distribution of the organic carbon. In the three forests, >2 mm soil aggregates were dominant, occupying about 76% of the total. The content of soil total organic carbon ranged from 12.73 to 68.66 g x kg(-1), with a significant difference among the forests. The organic carbon content in <1 mm soil aggregates was slightly higher than that in >2 mm soil aggregates, but most of soil organic carbon was stored in the soil aggregates with greater particle sizes. About 70% of soil organic carbon came from >2 mm soil aggregates. There was a significant positive relationship between the contents of 2-5 and 5-8 mm soil aggregates and the content of soil organic carbon. To increase the contents of 2-8 mm soil aggregates could effectively improve the soil carbon sequestration in Karst region. In Itoa orientalis forest, 2-8 mm soil aggregates accounted for 46% of the total, and the content of soil total organic carbon reached to 37.62 g x kg(-1), which implied that Itoa orientalis could be the suitable tree species for the ecological restoration in Karst region.

[Strategy of grain yield stability cooperated with harmonious water environment quality of small agricultural watershed].

This paper investigated the spatial variability of the correlations between grain yields and fertilization quantity within the selected agricultural watershed, in the typical black soil region, and then optimized the fertilization quantity at different landscape farmlands within the watershed based on the regression equations. Study simulated the surface runoff water quality before and after fertilization spatial adjustment with the achieved parameters by Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The results showed that watershed scale fertilization adjustment is possible and necessary according to the spatial heterogeneity about fertilization and grain yields. Based on grain yield stability, spatial adjustment of fertilization reduced the whole watershed total N fertilization quantity by 1.88%, and the total non-point nutrients load reduction of NH4+ -N and NO3- -N was 9.7%, 5.6%, respectively.

[Spatial heterogeneity of soil nutrients in Karst area's Mulun National Nature Reserve].

Soil samples were collected from the depression (200 m x 100 m) in Karst area's Mulun National Nature Reserve by grid sampling method (20 m x 20 m), with the spatial heterogeneity of soil nutrients analyzed by the methods of classic statistics and geo-statistics. The soil pH showed small variation, while the soil nutrients showed moderate variation, being in the order of available phosphorus (AP) > available potassium (AK) > available nitrogen (AN) > organic matter (OM) > total potassium (TK) > total phosphorus (TP) > total nitrogen (TN). Spherical model fitted best for soil pH, exponential model fitted best for soil TK and AK, and Gaussian model fitted best for other variables. The variation range of soil pH and AK was smaller, being 58.1 m and 41.1 m, respectively, that of soil OM, TN, TP, AN, and AP was from 100 m to 150 m, and that of soil TK was the largest (463.5 m). Soil TK and TN showed moderate spatial autocorrelation, while other soil nutrients showed strong spatial autocorrelation. Soil pH and AK presented fragmented patch distribution, showing high heterogeneity, while soil OM, TP, and TK changed gently, high in the middle and low in two sides. The spatial patterns of soil AN and AP were similar, i.e., increased with landform slope. Soil TN had a distribution pattern of low in the middle and high in two sides. Vegetation, topography, and high heterogeneity of micro-habitat were the main factors caused the differences of the spatial distribution patterns of soil nutrients in the Reserve.

[A spatial heterogeneity of surface soil moisture content in dry season in Mulun National Natural Reserve in Karst area].

By the methods of classical statistics and geostatistics, the spatial heterogeneity of surface soil (0-5 cm and 5-10 cm layers) moisture content in dry season in the typical sloping fields and depressions in Mulun National Natural Reserve in Karst area were studied. The results indicated that in study area, the surface soil moisture content in dry season was still higher, and showed a fine semivariogram structure as a whole. The spatial distribution of moisture content in 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm soil layers, both for sloping fields and for depressions, fitted exponential model well. Under the same stand conditions, the moisture content in the two soil layers had the similar spatial structure and distribution pattern; while under different stand conditions, there existed obvious difference in the same soil layer. The spatial pattern of surface soil moisture content in sloping fields was characterized by medium spatial autocorrelation, clear patches with well continuum, relatively slow variation of Moran's I index, while that in depressions was characterized by strong spatial autocorrelation, larger variation of Moran' s I index, and more fragmented patches. Therefore, topography, micro-physiognomy, precipitation, human disturbance, and especially vegetation were the most important factors affecting the spatial pattern of soil moisture content in the Mulun National Natural Reserve, and to preserve primary forest should have favorable effect on the regulation of the spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture content in the Reserve.

[Spatial heterogeneity of soil organic matter and its response to disturbance in karst peak cluster depressions].

By using geostatistic methods, this paper studied the spatial variation and distribution of soil organic matter as well as its ecological processes and related mechanisms in four typical disturbed areas (cropland, man-made forest, secondary forest, and primary forest) of karst peak cluster depressions in northwest Guangxi of China. Eighty soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected from an aligned grid of 10 m x 10 m for the analysis of soil organic matter. The soil organic matter content increased significantly (P < 0.05) with the decrease of disturbance and the vegetation succession from crop to man-made forest to secondary forest to primary forest. Soil organic matter content had good spatial autocorrelation in all of the four typical disturbed areas, but its spatial heterogeneity differed. Gaussian model fitted best to the semivariance functions of soil organic matter content in the study areas except secondary forest area where exponential model fitted well. In cropland area, the spatial autocorrelation of soil organic matter was at medium level, with the C0/(C0 + C) being 26.5%; while in the other three areas, the spatial autocorrelation was at high level, with the C0/(C0 + C) being 9.0%-22.6%. The range and scale of the spatial autocorrelation of soil organic matter in cropland and man-made forest areas were larger than those in the other two areas, possibly due to the strong human disturbance and the homogeneity of low energy. The range of the spatial autocorrelation of soil organic matter in primary forest area was large due to the high vegetation coverage, while that in secondary forest area was the lowest due to the diverse vegetation communities and their uneven distribution. The low fractal value (D) of semivariance functions of soil organic matter in man-made forest and primary forest areas suggested that a strong spatial dependence existed, while the high D in cropland and secondary forest areas suggested a great random variance of spatial distribution of soil organic matter occurred. The spatial pattern of soil organic matter presented a unimodal distribution in cropland and man-made forest areas, a concave distribution in secondary forest area, and a gibbous distribution in primary forest area. To reduce human disturbance would be helpful to the soil quality improvement, rapid vegetation restoration, and ecological reconstruction of karst degenerative ecosystems.