Application of matter-element model in soil nutrient evaluation of ecological fragile region

On the basis of the soil environment investigation in Da’an City, Jilin Province, China, 40 soil samples from main land use types were obtained and tested by standard method. Soil organic matter (SOM), total N (TN), total P (TP), total K (TK), available N (AN), available P (AP) and available K (AK) were chosen as the evaluation factors. A regional soil nutrient evaluation model was developed based on the matter-element model. The results show that the soil samples with nutrient grade II–V respectively account for 10%, 30%, 32.5% and 27.5%, and those with grade IV and V account for 60% in all samples. The relationship between soil nutrients and land types indicates that the nutrients of farmland are relatively good, with 41.7% of soil samples with the nutrient grade IV and V. The nutrients of saline-alkali land and sandy land are the worst, with 100% of soil samples with the nutrient grade IV and V. And the ratios of soil samples grade IV and V in grassland and wasteland are respectively 62.5 % and 54.55%. Generally speaking, the soil nutrients status in Da’an City is poor, 60% of soil samples are in poor and extremely poor conditions, indicating that the soil has been severely eroded. Being a relatively superior evaluation method with more accurate results and spatial distribution consistency, matter-element analysis is more suitable for regional soil nutrient evaluation than previous models. Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40572170, 40871088)