Shuitu Baochi Xuebao (Aug 2024)
Differences in Soil Properties and Spatial Variability of Water in the Understory Path of Karst Masson’s Pine
Abstract
[Objective] To investigate the spatial variability of trail soils under the influence of anthropogenic trampling in the understory social activities in karst areas. [Methods] To investigate the spatial and temporal variability of soil properties in the 0—20 cm soil layer under drought and precipitation conditions, we took the karst forest trail area as the research object, regularly sampled the soil at a fixed piont on a monthly scale. Geostatistical analyses were performed to assess the spatial and temporal variability of soil properties and their distribution patterns under both drought and precipitation conditions. [Results] Anthropogenic trampling can alter the structure of the soil surface (0—15 cm) and subsurface by increasing soil consolidation and the aggregation capacity of soil particles. The spatial distribution of soil water content in karst forests trails showed moderate variability, with higher values observed in the center of the trails (32.68%) compared to the trail edges (28.46%) and the forest interior (26.99%). Soil compactness and shear strength followed a similar pattern, being highest at the center of the trail, followed by the trail edge, and lowest in the forest interior. Vegetation cover was weakened by anthropogenic trampling, resulting in an increased response time of soil water content to rainfall events. Stochastic factors had a relatively greater influence on soil surface water content but overall showed strong spatial autocorrelation (0.97). Kriging contour plots revealed patchy distribution patterns for soil moisture along forest trails, which exhibited better spatial continuity under precipitation conditions. [Conclusion] Substantial guidance for the implementation of woodland ecological restoration strategies and the development of more accurate soil sampling density programmers in karst areas.
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