Pedosphere 13(1): 31--39, 2003
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2003 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Quantification and remediation of soil chemical degradation in tropical australia, China and Thailand |
| A. D. NOBLE1, P. MOODY2, LIU Guo-Dao3, S. RUAYSOONGNERN4, QI Zhi-Ping3 and S. BERTHELSEN1 |
1 CSIRO Land and Water, Davies Laboratory, PMB PO Aitkenvale, QLD 4814 (Australia);
2 Department of Natural Resources and Mines, 80 Meiers Road, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068 (Australia);
3 Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Baodao Xincun, Danzhou, Hainan Province (China);
4 Department of Land Resources and Environment, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002 (Thailand) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Soil and land degradation in the tropics can be identified and described in terms of physical, chemical, and biological changes from its pristine state brought about by natural and anthropogenic influences. Acharacteristic of these ecosystems is their capacity to recycle nutrients through soil organic matter(SOM). Following disturbance through changed land management, SOM is rapidly minerMized and there is a cor-responding decline in fertility and the variable charge component of the cation exchange capacity. As theseecosystems are strongly dependent on SOM for their functionality, changed land use can have irreversible im-pacts on the productivity of these systems. The paper focuses on quantifying chemical degradation through‘benchmarking' using data from paired sites in tropical China and Thailand using surface charge finger-printing. Using values taken from the fingerprint of an undisturbed soil, an index of chemical degradationfrom‘ideality' was calculated. Various management strategies that attempt to reverse degradative trends or improve poor quality soils in their natural condition are discussed, such as the addition of natural clays and silicated materials. Results are present to show the effect of each of the aforementioned strategies on surface charge characteristics and associated increases in plant productivity. |
| Key Words: degradation, land use, remediation, soil |
| Citation: Noble, A. D., Moody, P., Liu, G. D., Ruaysoongnern, S., Qi, Z. P. and Berthelsen, S. 2003. Quantification and remediation of soil chemical degradation in tropical australia, China and Thailand. Pedosphere. 13(1): 31-39. |
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