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Article

Response of Depth-Stratified Soil Quality to Land-Use Conversion and Its Limiting Factors in Tropical Ecosystems

1
School of Geomatics, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
2
Institute of Land Surveying and Spatial Geographic Information, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Land 2025, 14(10), 2010; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102010
Submission received: 26 August 2025 / Revised: 2 October 2025 / Accepted: 5 October 2025 / Published: 7 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Resource Use Efficiency and Sustainable Land Use)

Abstract

Land degradation is known to alter soil properties and quality; however, its depth-dependent effects across contrasting land-use types and the key factors limiting soil recovery remain poorly quantified in tropical ecosystems. This study established a forest degradation gradient on Hainan Island, China, encompassing mature forest, secondary forest, rubber plantation, and areca plantation. Soil physical (e.g., bulk density, porosity, water content, field capacity) and chemical (e.g., organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fractions) properties were measured at three depths (0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm). A soil quality index (SQI) was constructed using principal component analysis, and obstacle degree modeling was applied to identify major limiting factors. The results showed that degradation of mature forests significantly reduced topsoil (0–20 cm) quality regardless of subsequent land-use type. In contrast, changes in medium (20–40 cm) and deep (40–60 cm) soil quality were land-use dependent. Conversion to secondary forests and areca plantations resulted in negligible effects, whereas transformation into rubber plantations significantly enhanced soil quality at medium and deep depths. Obstacle degree analysis identified available phosphorus, rather than nitrogen, as the primary limiting factor for soil quality in the region, accounting for 39.7% of all limitations across land-use types. This study demonstrates that the effects of tropical forest degradation on soil quality exhibit dual dependence on both soil depth and land-use type in tropical settings. Furthermore, it highlights the essential role of available phosphorus management in guiding soil restoration and sustainable land-use strategies in these vulnerable ecosystems.
Keywords: land-use transformation; tropical forests; soil properties; soil quality; constraining factors land-use transformation; tropical forests; soil properties; soil quality; constraining factors

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Li, Y.; Zhang, T.; Wang, S. Response of Depth-Stratified Soil Quality to Land-Use Conversion and Its Limiting Factors in Tropical Ecosystems. Land 2025, 14, 2010. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102010

AMA Style

Li Y, Zhang T, Wang S. Response of Depth-Stratified Soil Quality to Land-Use Conversion and Its Limiting Factors in Tropical Ecosystems. Land. 2025; 14(10):2010. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102010

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Yanmin, Tianqi Zhang, and Shihang Wang. 2025. "Response of Depth-Stratified Soil Quality to Land-Use Conversion and Its Limiting Factors in Tropical Ecosystems" Land 14, no. 10: 2010. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102010

APA Style

Li, Y., Zhang, T., & Wang, S. (2025). Response of Depth-Stratified Soil Quality to Land-Use Conversion and Its Limiting Factors in Tropical Ecosystems. Land, 14(10), 2010. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102010

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