Soil's fractal characteristics and influencing factors of main underlying surface in the source area of Heihe River

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00051

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (6): 279-288.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00051

Soil's fractal characteristics and influencing factors of main underlying surface in the source area of Heihe River

Erlong Diao¹(), Guangchao Cao¹(), Ying Liu², Meiliang Zhao¹

^1.Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process / Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface and Ecological Consorvation （Ministry of Education），College of Geographical Science，Qinghai Normal University，Xining 810008，China / MOE
^2.Qinghai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Engineering Consulting Corporation，Xining 810008，China

Received:2024-12-04 Revised:2025-03-17 Online:2025-11-20 Published:2025-11-26
Contact: Guangchao Cao

Abstract

Abstract:

To investigate the fractal characteristics and influencing factors of soil particle size in the primary underlying surface of the Heihe River source area， this study focused on the alpine meadow in that region. Soil particle size from 0 to 40 cm depth， along with various physical and chemical indicators， were measured， and environmental factors at each sampling point were extracted. Principal component analysis and the Mantel test were employed to quantify the influence of each factor on the fractal characteristics of soil particle size. Additionally， a partial least squares path model was utilized to explore the effects of interactions among environmental factors on soil fractal characteristics. The results showed that the particle size distribution of alpine meadow soil could be divided into three scale domains： clay domain， silt domain， and sand domain. The boundaries of these domains were largely consistent with the U.S. standard classifications for clay， silt， and sand. The mean fractal dimension of the silt domain （D_silt） within the 0-40 cm soil layer was 2.33， while that of the sand domain （D_sand） was 2.84. The multifractal dimension parameters， namely D₀ （capacity dimension）， D₁ （information dimension）， and D₂ （association dimension）， exhibit the order D₀> D₁> D₂， indicating a non-uniform distribution of soil particle sizes. Soil particle size is a critical factor influencing the fractal characteristics of soil. Topographic factors play a significant role in vegetation growth and the roughness of soil texture by redistributing water and heat resources， which in turn indirectly impacts the fractal characteristics of soil particle size.

Key words: soil particle size, fractal dimension, alpine meadow, the source area of Heihe River

CLC Number:

S152

Erlong Diao, Guangchao Cao, Ying Liu, Meiliang Zhao. Soil's fractal characteristics and influencing factors of main underlying surface in the source area of Heihe River[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2025, 45(6): 279-288.

Figures/Tables 6

References 47

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土层深度/cm	土壤粒径/%			理化性质
土层深度/cm	黏粒	粉粒	砂粒	容重/(g·cm^-3)	土壤含水量/%	全氮/(g·kg^-1)	有机质/(g·kg^-1)
0~10	5.67±0.34^a	51.96±2.32^a	42.36±2.60^a	0.91±0.02^c	33.03±2.40^a	5.11±0.32^a	89.36±6.16^a
10~20	5.48±0.31^a	50.74±2.42^a	43.78±2.70^a	1.05±0.04^b	25.73±1.84^b	4.19±0.31^b	64.91±5.55^b
20~30	5.16±0.31^a	49.57±2.55^a	45.27±2.82^a	1.20±0.03^a	24.23±1.83^b	3.49±0.23^bc	56.66±5.43^bc
30~40	5.25±0.29^a	49.13±2.44^a	45.62±2.67^a	1.25±0.04^a	22.03±1.75^b	3.01±0.19^c	43.22±3.94^c
平均值	5.39±0.16	50.35±1.21	44.26±1.34	1.10±0.02	25.92±1.05	3.95±0.14	63.27±3.06

土层深度/cm	土壤粒径/%			理化性质
土层深度/cm	黏粒	粉粒	砂粒	容重/(g·cm^-3)	土壤含水量/%	全氮/(g·kg^-1)	有机质/(g·kg^-1)
0~10	5.67±0.34^a	51.96±2.32^a	42.36±2.60^a	0.91±0.02^c	33.03±2.40^a	5.11±0.32^a	89.36±6.16^a
10~20	5.48±0.31^a	50.74±2.42^a	43.78±2.70^a	1.05±0.04^b	25.73±1.84^b	4.19±0.31^b	64.91±5.55^b
20~30	5.16±0.31^a	49.57±2.55^a	45.27±2.82^a	1.20±0.03^a	24.23±1.83^b	3.49±0.23^bc	56.66±5.43^bc
30~40	5.25±0.29^a	49.13±2.44^a	45.62±2.67^a	1.25±0.04^a	22.03±1.75^b	3.01±0.19^c	43.22±3.94^c
平均值	5.39±0.16	50.35±1.21	44.26±1.34	1.10±0.02	25.92±1.05	3.95±0.14	63.27±3.06

Soil's fractal characteristics and influencing factors of main underlying surface in the source area of Heihe River

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