Effects of Land Uses on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in Hilly Areas of Wuling Mountain

To study effects of land uses on soil physical and chemical properties,soil samples collected from different land uses(cropland,orchard,woodland,unused land,intercropping land) of the hilly areas of Wuling Mountain were analyzed,which provided a scientific basis of land using and the conservation of soil and water.The result showed that the soil physical and chemical properties were significantly affected by land uses,the contents of organic carbon,total nitrogen,available nitrogen and available potassium of woodland were the highest,but the soil moisture in this land was the lowest;the contents of organic carbon,total nitrogen,available nitrogen of intercropping land were the lowest;the contents of soil moisture and bulk density of unused land were the highest,but the contents of available phosphorus and available potassium were the lowest,and other nutrients were on the low level.The soil nutrients of the five land uses decreased with the increase of depth of soil layer.The reduction of soil organic carbon of all the five land uses was similar,but the reduction of the other nutrients was different among the land uses.Based on the classification standard of soil nutrients in the second soil investigation of China,the contents of soil available phosphorus and available potassium kept mid-high level,the contents of soil total nitrogen and organic carbon kept deficient status,and the soil nutrients of woodland were abundant.