Land use effects on the dynamics of soil C, N and microbes in the water-wind erosion crisscross region of the northern Loess Plateau, China

The water-wind erosion crisscross region of the northern Loess Plateau in China is under constant pressure from severe erosion due to its windy and dry climate and intensive human activities. Identifying sustainable land use patterns is key to maintaining ecosystem sustainability in the area. Our aim was to appraise the impacts of different land use regimes on the dynamics of soil total organic C (TOC), total N (TN), and microbes in a typical watershed in the northern Loess Plateau to identify suitable land use types that can maintain soil fertility and sustainability. A field experiment was performed in Liudaogou watershed in Shenmu City, Shaanxi Province, China, where the dynamics of soil TOC and TN, microbial biomass C and N, microbial respiration, and net N mineralization in six typical land use types, dam land, rainfed slope land, deciduous broadleaf forest, evergreen coniferous forest, shrubland, and grassland, were measured in three different growing seasons. Land use type and season significantly affected TOC, TN, and the dynamics of microbial biomass and activity. As the most anthropogenically disturbed land use pattern, dam land was an optimal land use pattern for TOC sequestration due to its higher TOC and TN, but lower microbial activity. Soil TOC, TN, and microbial properties demonstrated a decreasing trend after natural grassland was converted to shrubland, forest, and rainfed slope land. Shrubland with exotic N-fixing Korshinsk peashrub (Caragana korshinskii Kom.) can maintain TOC, TN, and microbial properties similar to those in grassland. Soil TOC, NH₄⁺-N, TN, moisture, and extractable C were the principal indexes for soil microbial biomass and activity and explained 88.90% of the total variance. Thus, grassland was the optimal land use pattern in the water-wind erosion crisscross region of the northern Loess Plateau to maintain ecosystem stability and sustainability.