Spatiotemporal Variation in Soil Quality and its Relation to the Environmental Factors
土壤质量时空变异及其与环境因子的时空关系

Soil quality indicates the effects of natural factors and human activities on land resource.It is important for the imporvment of land quality and sustainable land use to understand deeply the relationships between the spatiotemporal variability of soil quality and environmental factors.The spatiotemporal variation in soil quality means the soil properties show the significant differentiation and diversity at different scales of time and space.Actually,the spatiotemporal variation in soil properties is related to the joint-influences of several environmental factors at multiple-scales including vegetation,land use,meteorological factors(e.g.rainfall),topography and soil.However,the key scale and dominant factors are different for the different time,space and scale.In this paper,the concept and characteristics of spatiotemporal variability of soil quality are first intruduced,then the studies on the spatiotemporal variation in soil quality and its relation to the environmental factors are reviewed.The studies on the Loess Plateau in China are stressed.At the same time,the development trends of soil quality variability are discussed,aiming to provide insights into further soil quality study.