Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2025, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (5): 511-523.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2024.12.129

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Spatial differences in soil nutrient trace element concentrations in a typical agricultural area of the southern Loess Plateau

WANG Hongyu1(), WANG Juan1, MA Rongrong1, ZHOU Wei1,2,3,*()   

  1. 1. School of Land Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100083, China
    3. Technology Innovation Center for Ecological Restoration in Mining Areas, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2024-08-20 Revised:2024-12-28 Online:2025-09-25 Published:2025-10-14
  • Contact: ZHOU Wei

Abstract:

The Loess Plateau is one of the core dryland agricultural areas in China, and exploring the spatial distribution of soil trace elements and their influencing factors in a typical agricultural area of the Loess Plateau is important for improving production efficiency and effectiveness of farmland ecological protection. In this study, a spatial interpolation based on field soil sampling was adopted to determine the spatial distribution characteristics of five soil trace elements, namely, Mo, Ge, Zn, Mn and Cu. Soil composite index calculation with reference to documents related to geochemistry of land quality. The relevant documents related to soil nutrient classification were referred to for calculating comprehensive nutrient indices. Finally, the influencing factors were analyzed in combination with various natural and social factors, and recommendations for soil trace element monitoring and regulation were proposed. The results showed that the contents of five trace elements in the study area were relatively deficient. The values of Mo varied greatly showing a northeast-southwest spatial distribution, while the concentrations of other elements were generally greatest in the east and north. Most elements generally decreased with increasing distance to roads and settlements or increased closer to the Yellow River, and decreased with increasing soil moisture or lower altitude. The contents of various elements generally decreased in the order Cinnamon soil>Calcic cinnamon soil>Loessial soil>Alluvial soil. Studying the spatial distribution of soil trace elements helps researchers understand the richness or deficiency status and can provide a reference for soil trace element monitoring and regulation.

Key words: soil trace elements, Loess Plateau, typical agricultural area, spatial differentiation

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