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Soil quality assessment under different Paulownia fortunei plantations in mid-subtropical China

  • 2015 International Symposium on Forest Soils
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Paulownia, one of the fastest growing broad-leaved tree species in the world, is widely distributed in the warm temperate regions of China. However, there are few commercial-scale Paulownia plantations, and there is only limited information available about the most suitable soil quality for Paulownia fortunei growth in mid-subtropical, Hunan Province, China.

Materials and methods

To understand the effect of the growth of P. fortunei on soil conditions, 25 soil property parameters under Paulownia plantations were studied in Hunan Province, China. Seventy-two standard plots of eight different stand types were analyzed by three statistical approaches to assess soil quality (SQ) in the different P. fortunei plantations.

Results and discussion

The results revealed that a majority of the soil characteristics when intercropping with oilseed rape and the pure P. fortunei (plantation III) were better than intercropping with Camellia oleifera, orange trees, and Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.). Available calcium, available magnesium, available potassium, available phosphorus, soil thickness, slope, soil organic matter, available sulfur, available copper, dehydrogenase, and available zinc were selected as the minimum data set (MDS). The SQ index (SQI) showed that three classes for soil quality among the eight P. fortunei plantations ranged from 0.48 to 0.88 and these were correlated with standing volume (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

From the results, we concluded that selected MDS indicators can describe the soil fertility quality of P. fortunei plantations, and that the relationship between SQI and standing volume has a biological significance. P. fortunei plantations intercropped with Camellia oleifera, orange trees, and Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) caused a deterioration in SQ, but intercropping oilseed rape and pure P. fortunei plantations produced an improvement in SQ.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the staff of Xiang Yin County Forestry Bureau and Hunan Forestry Bureau for assistance in the field census. Financial support was partly provided by the National Science and Technology Support Project of China (Grant No. 2015BAD09B0204), the Central Government Forestry S & T Achievement Extension Project of China (Grant No. 2014XT009), and the National Agricultural Science and Technology Achievements Transformation Project of China (Grant No. 2011GB24320015).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Cultivation and Protection for Non-Wood Forest Trees, Ministry of Education, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Shaoshan South Road, No. 498, Changsha, 410004, Hunan, China

    Jia Tu & Lichao Wu

  2. Hunan Academy of Forestry, Shaoshan South Road, No. 658, Chagnsha, 410004, Hunan, China

    Jia Tu

  3. Cooperative Innovation Center of Cultivation and Utilization for Non-Wood Forest Trees of Hunan Province, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Shaoshan South Road, No. 498, Changsha, 410004, Hunan, China

    Jia Tu & Lichao Wu

  4. Key Laboratory of Non-wood Forest Products of State Forestry Administration, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Shaoshan South Road, No. 498, Changsha, 410004, Hunan, China

    Jia Tu & Lichao Wu

  5. Paulownia Research and Development Center of State Forestry Administration, Zhengzhou, 450003, Henan, China

    Baoping Wang & Jie Qiao

  6. Scion, Private Bag 3020, Rotorua, 3046, New Zealand

    Kim McGrouther

  7. Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin’an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 311300, China

    Hailong Wang

  8. Changsha Environmental Protection College, Jiangui Road, No. 10, 410004, Hunan, China

    Tianle Ma

Authors
  1. Jia Tu
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  2. Baoping Wang
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  3. Kim McGrouther
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  4. Hailong Wang
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  6. Jie Qiao
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  7. Lichao Wu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lichao Wu.

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Responsible editor: Zhiqun Huang

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Tu, J., Wang, B., McGrouther, K. et al. Soil quality assessment under different Paulownia fortunei plantations in mid-subtropical China. J Soils Sediments 17, 2371–2382 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1478-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1478-2

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