[Effects of land use and management on soil quality of Heerqin sandy land].

The changes of soil physical, chemical and biological properties under different land use and management lasted for 14 years were investigated on the Heerqin sandy land. The results showed that among various land use systems marked differences exhibited in soil quality indicators, including soil particle composition, porosity distribution, bulk density, water-holding capacity, organic matter and nutrient contents, pH, and enzyme activities. Most of these soil quality indicators were the highest in the orchard intercropped with crops and perennial grass (agroforestry systems), intermediate in the well-management irrigated farmland, and the lowest in the less-management dry farmland. Compared to the primary grassland soil, although some soil properties, including porosity distribution, water-holding capacity, phosphorus content, and enzyme activities, were improved in the well-management systems, soil organic matter and nitrogen contents were significantly lower. It suggested that a long-term input of organic matter was needed for the restoration and reestablishment of soil carbon and nitrogen pools in the seriously degraded ecosystem. Inappropriate land use and management could rapidly worsen soil quality, and hence, from a perspective of soil resource conservation, a preferable way for preventing soil degradation and achieving sustainable land use should be to give up the cultivation of degraded dry farmlands, and to adopt more effective and appropriate soil management and cultivation practices.