The impact of land use change on quality evolution of soil genetic layers on the coastal plain of south Hangzhou Bay

Land use change plays an important part in the studies of global environmental change and regional sustainable development. The change of soil quality can particularly reflect the impacts of human socio-economic activities on environment. Taking the coastal plain of south Hangzhou Bay as a study case, we analyzed the effects of land use changes on organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), total salinity (TS), pH value in soil genetic layers, and assessed soil quality change related to different land use types from 1982 to 2003. The results show that: (1) The general change tendency of soil quality in the coastal plain of south Hangzhou Bay declined obviously in A layer and slightly rise in B (or P) layer and C (or W) layer. The contents of TP decreased generally in all soil genetic layers, but the variety difference of other soil quality indices was relatively great. (2) The change of soil quality in the areas where land use changed is far more remarkable than that with land use unchanged. The value of quality variety is A layer >B (or P) layer >C (or W) layer. (3) The changes of soil tillage, cultivation, fertilization, irrigation and drainage activities related to land use may make some soil-forming processes disappeared and bring in other new processes which will affect the soil quality and soil genetic layers directly.