ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Effects of Different Land Use Change on Soil
Aggregate and Aggregate Associated Organic
Carbon: A Meta-Analysis
More details
Hide details
1
School of Geographic Information and Tourism, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou, China
2
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, China
Submission date: 2023-11-08
Final revision date: 2024-01-14
Acceptance date: 2024-01-25
Online publication date: 2024-05-10
Publication date: 2024-06-27
Corresponding author
Zhen Wu
School of Geographic Information and Tourism, Chuzhou University, 239000, Chuzhou, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2024;33(5):5263-5274
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Soil aggregate functions in maintaining soil structure and protecting soil organic carbon (SOC). To
illustrate the influence of land use change on soil aggregate total SOC and aggregate-associated SOC,
we conducted a meta-analysis using data from published journals. Overall, land use changes significantly
improved soil macro-aggregate and total SOC by 7.3% and 19.8%, respectively, compared with the primary
land use type. The WSA0.25 tended to increase by 63.8% and 37.9% in forest and grassland, respectively,
while it decreased by 21.9% and 11.2% in farmland and garden, compared to primary land use. The
change from ecological land to agricultural land significantly decreased WSA0.25 by an average of 24.3%,
but agricultural land change to ecological land increased WSA0.25 by 49.2%. Soil clay, SOC, bulk density,
and pH were the most important factors in explaining the variance in macro-aggregate content. The SOC
content increased by 44.1% and 74.4% in forest and grassland, respectively, while it decreased by 16.2% in
farmland. Changing agricultural land to ecological land increased the SOC and macro-aggregate associated
SOC by 52.6% and 50.0%, respectively, and a positive correction was observed between macro-aggregate
associated SOC and the content of WSA0.25 rather than MSA0.25. Our meta-analysis provided a scientific
basis to enhance soil structural stability and increase SOC storage.