Relationship between soil properties in different vegetation types and altitudes on the south slope of Mt. Tuomuer

To explore the spatial distribution characteristics of soil physical and chemical properties on the south slope of Mt. Tuomuer,the physio-chemical properties of soil at different altitudes in Tailan River Valley were analyzed. The results showed that: 1)The grain size of the soil tended to be more refined as altitude increased; there was a significant difference in the soil moisture content in different vegetation types, anda positive correlation with altitude. 2)The coefficient of variation of in grassland soil was due to strong variation with the CV>1.0, and the coefficient of variation of the total salt in forest soils showed a weak variation with the CV≤0.1. In addition to, the coefficient of variation of other salt ions showed medium variation with the 0.1≤CV≤1.0.There was a very significant negative correlation between NaCl and K++Na+ in shrub land, and Cl- and SO42- in forest land and at altitude (P<0.01). 3)There was a significant negative correlation between soil pH and altitude. The orderofthe content of surface soil organic matter in the study area was forest>grassland>shrub, the content of total P with forest>shrub>grassland, the content of total N with grass>forest>shrub, and the order of C/N with forest>shrub>grassland. Organic matter, total N, and C/N showed medium variation, whereas total P showed weak variation. There were highly significant or significant correlations between soil nutrient indexes and altitude, except for the grassland soilsamples’ C/N, as well as the forest soil’s C/N and total P. Therefore, a reasonable management model should be used to improve the ecological environment based on both vegetation types and soil properties in Tuomuer Nature Reserve at different altitudes.