Acta Agriculturae Zhejiangensis ›› 2026, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 955-964.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-1524.20250534

• Environmental Science • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on the genetic characteristics and taxonomy of soils in Qingliangfeng, northwest Zhejiang Province of China

YUAN Hangjie1(), YANG Wenye1, ZHANG Xiumei2, ZHANG Mingkui3, WANG Jingwen1, WANG Zhong4,*()   

  1. 1 Hangzhou Agricultural Technology Extension Center (Hangzhou Plant Protection and Plant Inspection Center), Hangzhou 310020, China
    2 Hangzhou Agricultural and Rural Affairs Guarantee Center, Hangzhou 310020, China
    3 College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
    4 Agricultural Technology Extension Center of Linping District, Hangzhou 311100, China
  • Received:2025-08-13 Online:2026-05-25 Published:2026-06-02

Abstract:

To understand the vertical variation characteristics of mountainous soils located in the transitional zone of the central and northern subtropical zones and with significant differences in terrain elevation, six representative soil profiles were collected at different altitudes in the Qingliangfeng, northwest Zhejiang Province of China. The vertical variation of the genesis characteristics of the mountainous soils was characterized in detail, and the taxonomy of the soils was explored according to the Chinese Soil Taxnomy. The results showed that with the increase of altitude, the effective soil layer thickness became thinner, the soil profile configuration changed from A-B-C to A-C, the soil color changed from 7.5YR to 10YR, the intensity of soil weathering gradually decreased, while content of sand particle and exchangeable aluminum, cation exchange capacity, and iron activity of the soils gradually increased, yet the content of clay, total iron, free iron, and iron free degree gradually decreased. At the same time, the ratio of silt to clay showed a gradual increase. The organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus in soil profiles exhibited surface accumulation, with most profiles having a deeper distribution of soil organic carbon. The content of organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus in the surface soils showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with altitude, reaching the highest value around 1 455 m above sea level. The clay minerals in the collected soil profiles were composed of kaolinite, illite, vermiculite, and gibbsite. From low altitude to high altitude, the content of kaolinite gradually decreased, while the content of vermiculite showed an increase followed by a decrease, and the content of illite showed a fluctuating increase. The diagnostic horizons that appeared in the collected soil profiles included cambic horizon, umbric epipedon, ochric epipedon. The diagnostic characteristics in the collected soil profiles included ferric properties, alic phenomenon, humus properties, thermal and mesic soil temperature regimes, and udic and perudic soil moisture regimes. There were two soil orders, namely Cambosols and Primosols. From the foot to the top of the mountain, there were three suborsers: Udic Cambosols, Perudic Cambosols and Orthic Primosols. Research has shown that due to the influence of new tectonic movements, the soil in Qingliangfeng is in a moderate to weak stage of desilication and aluminum enrichment process, and its degree of the desilication and ferrallitization does not match its location in the “Jiangnan Paleoland”.

Key words: Qingliangfeng, vertical variation, diagnostic classification, Cambosols, desilication and ferrallitization, organic carbon accumulation

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