Wetland soils are characterized by alternating redox process due to the fluctuation of waterlogged conditions. Iron is an important redox substance, and its transfer and transformation in the wetland ecosystem could be an effective indicator for the environment changes. In this paper, we selected the Naoli River catchment in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China as the study area to analyze the dynamics of transfer and transformation of soil iron, and the relationship between iron content change and environmental factors. The results show that the total and crystalline iron contents reach the peak in the depth of 60 cm in soil profile, while the amorphous iron content is higher in the topsoil. In the upper reaches, from the low to high landscape positions, the total and crystalline iron contents decrease from 62.98 g/kg to 41.61 g/kg, 22.82 g/kg to 10.53 g/kg respectively, while the amorphous iron content increases from 2.42 g/kg to 8.88 g/kg. Amorphous iron content has positive correlation with organic matter and soil water contents, while negative correlation with pH. Moreover, both the crystalline and amorphous iron contents present no correlation with total iron content, indicating that environmental factors play a more important role in the transfer and transformation of iron other than the content of the total iron. Different redoximorphic features were found along the soil profile due to the transfer and transformation of iron. E and B horizons of wetland soil in the study area have a matrix Chroma 2 or less, and all the soil types can meet the criteria of American hydric soil indicators except albic soil.
Wetland soil quality degradation caused by large-scale agricultural reclamation on the Sanjiang Plain of Northeast China has been widely reported. A relative soil quality evaluation (RSQE) model and a projection pursuit evaluation (PPE) model based on real-coded accelerating genetic algorithm were introduced to evaluate quality variations in top layers of the main wetland soils on the Sanjiang Plain in 1999 and 2003, respectively. As soil quality degradation boundaries were vague, this study established two fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) models based on the original data and criteria used in the RSQE and PPE models. The outputs of the two FSE models were obtained by choosing two fuzzy composite operators M(∧, ∨) and M(·, ⊕). Statistical analysis showed that the results of the FSE, RSQE, and PPE models were correlated. In particular, outputs of the FSE model using M(·, ⊕) were significantly correlated with those of the RSQE model with r = 0.989 at P < 0.01. Compared with RSQE and PPE models, the FSE model may be more objective in showing soil quality variations and was closer to the natural situation, showing the feasibility and applicability of the FSE model in evaluating soil quality degradation. However, the choice of composite operator was of critical importance. The study of wetland soil quality degradation on the Sanjiang Plain was of scientific and practical significance for protection and management of soils and for sustainable development of agriculture in this area in the future.
WANG Jian-HuaLU Xian-GuoJIANG MingLI Xiao-YanTIAN Jing-Han
