Fractal Characteristics of Soil under Different Land-Use Patterns in the Arid and Semi-Arid Region of the Western Tibet Plateau, China

0Introduction Changesinsoilstructureoftenaccompanychangesinmanagementpracticesandmayaffecttheeffectivenessofthesepractices.Parametersareneededto quantifythesechanges.Sizedistributionsofsoilparticleandmicroaggregatehavebeenfoundtobeagood indicatorofchanges…

Fractal characteristics of soil under different land-use patterns in the arid and semi-arid region of the western Tibet Plateau, China

The fractal geometry to the study of soil structure, its dynamics, and physical processes appears to be a useful tool in reaching a better understanding of system performance. This research was designed to apply fractal models for mass into computingD _p andD _a values. As a result, the relationships among land use methods, fractal dimension and soil fertility have been discussed. The study conclusions include that (i) fractal dimension indicates not only characteristics of soil texture but also effects of natural environment changes and human activities on soil properties, (ii) soil fertility is best whenD _p<2.65 andD _a<2.44, (iii) maximal values ofD _p under all land use patterns are equal and appear in the range the depth of 15–20 cm in the study area, but maximal values ofD _a are different and distribute in various profile depth. These results can provide an important support to understand soil properties in plateau soil-forming environment, and be helpful to conduct scientific soil tillage and management. Foundation item: Supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Science (KZCX-SW-339-04) Biography: WANG Xiao-dan (1973-), male, Ph.D, research direction: environment degradation and ecology reconstruction.