Influence of soil and water conservation measures on soil fertility in the Beijing mountain area

Soil and water conservation (SWC) measures can be adopted to conserve soil and water and improve soil fertility. The degree to which SWC measures improve soil fertility is affected by the type of SWC measure, soil type, climate, etc. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of the main SWC measures implemented in the Beijing mountain area on soil fertility. Six runoff plots, including a fish pit (fallow) (FPF), fish pit (Platycladus orientalis L. Franco) (FPP), narrow terrace (fallow) (NTF), narrow terrace (Juglans regia L.) (NTJ), tree pan (Juglans regia L.) (TPJ), and fallow land (FL), were established to analyze the differences in soil fertility in the Beijing mountain area. Soil samples were collected in 2005 and 2015 from the six runoff plots. Soil particle size; soil total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), total potassium (TK), alkali-hydrolysable nitrogen (Ah-N), available P (Av-P), and available K (Av-K); and soil organic matter (SOM) were measured. The soil integrated fertility index (IFI) was calculated. The results showed that the soil nutrient content and IFI significantly decreased from 2005 to 2015 in the FL plot and significantly increased in the five runoff plots with SWC measures. Compared to the other runoff plots with SWC measures, the FPP plot more significantly improved the soil nutrient content and IFI. The TN, Ah-N, Av-K, SOM, and IFI in the FPP plots increased by 98%, 113%, 61%, 69 and 47%, respectively, from 2005 to 2015. The IFI for the FPP, NTJ, and TPJ exceeded the average IFI of the farmland soil in the study region. The results indicated that the combination of engineering practices and vegetative measures effectively improved soil fertility. These results may be helpful for selecting SWC measures, land-use planning and monitoring and assessing soil fertility.