Abstract
Knowledge about how to stabilize soil structure is essential to conserve soil systems and maintain various biogeochemical processes through soil. In urban area, soil structural systems are degraded with inappropriate management and land use and become vulnerable to erosion. We analyzed the structural changes of surface soils with different land uses, i.e., forests, parks, roadside green area, riparian area, and farmlands (soybean fields), in the Anyang Stream Watershed in order to find the factors influencing the stability of soil structure and the implication for better management of surface soil. Soil organic matter contents of other land use soils were only 18~52% of that in forest soils. Soil organic matter increased the stability of soil aggregates in the order of soybean fields < roadsides < riparian < parks < forests and also reduced soil bulk density (increased porosity). The lowest stability of soybean field soils was attributed to the often disturbance like tillage and it was considered that higher stability of park soils comparing to other land use soils except forests was owing to the covering of soil surface with grass. These results suggest that supply of soil organic matter and protection of soil surface with covering materials are very important to increase porosity and stability of soil structure.
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