Variation of soil quality with different land use change in Tai Lake region, Jiangsu, China: A case study of soil quality survey of Wujiang municipality in 2003

Land use have profound impacts on soil quality. In this paper, data of soil nutrients and Cd, Pb, Hg, As, Cr from the soil quality survey of Wujiang Municipality conducted in 2003 was analysed and a synthetic soil quality index was calculated for the soils under different land uses. The results showed that variation of soil quality associated with soil nutrients and heavy metals with the land use patterns had been apparent for the last 20 years Among the six major land use patterns, rice paddies were shown in better soil quality than under the other 5 land uses concerned with the contents of heavy metals and soil P, pH and SOC status. Therefore, rice paddies are not only a traditional land use for higher cereals production but also a land management practice for preserving high soil quality and environmental safety.