The effect of land use changes on soil conditions in Korla City, Xinjiang
新疆库尔勒市土地利用变化对土壤性状的影响研究

Land use change may influence a variety of natural and ecological processes, including soil nutrient, soil moisture, soil erosion, land productivity and biodiversity. The 9 typical land use patterns lasted for 15~20 years have been chosen to study the effect of different land use patterns on soil nutrient, soil erosion, soil moisture, saline and so on. We drew conclusions as follows: Firstly, it is clear of the effect of land use change on soil. Land use change results in the decline of soil nutrient and erosion rate, but the increase of land productivity; Secondly, the erosion rate and the rate of vegetation cover is the subtractive correlativity. It reflects the effect of soil erosion on land productivity. It is clear of the positive correlativity between land productivity and soil moisture and explains the role of land surface vegetation to preventing aridity in the northwestern China; Lastly, it is feasible to develop animal husbandry properly in arid region. The topgallant land use pattern is forest and meadow in arid region. The rational land use may prevent or weaken the intensity of soil erosion in a certain extent. Therefore, activities accorded with ecological principal such as readjustment of land use structure, rational reclamation along with adoption of prevention and control measures can reverse land degradation process.