5. Summary and conclusions
The objectives of this study were to: 1) compare vegetation cover,
physical soil properties, macronutrient concentrations, and estimated
short- and long-term soil erosion across ten different land uses in a
hilly area of North Vietnam near Hanoi; and 2) evaluate the interrelationships
among the various biological, chemical, and physical characteristics.
Hence each land use was represented by three replicated
plots in a relatively small study area to minimize the differences in
soils, climate and other factors, and maximize the comparability
among land uses, rather than trying to characterize the range of variability
for each land use across a much larger area.
Soil organic carbon and nitrogen were strongly related to the
amount of understory biomass than the amount of litter, although
there was a strong correlation between the amount of litter and understory
biomass. The amount of ground cover was a complex function as
this was positively but not significantly correlated with both understory
biomass and litter biomass, and inversely related to canopy openness.
Soil organic carbon and nitrogen levels significantly declined with increasing
bulk density, and this may be a reflection of both current and
prior land use activities. Soil pedestal height was most closely related
to the amount of surface cover, and surface cover also was the strongest
explanatory variable for the amount of 210Pbex.
Forests did not necessarily have the highest amounts of litter or
ground cover, or the lowest bulk densities. Hence they did not necessarily
have the highest concentrations of soil organic carbon, nitrogen
or phosphorus, or the lowest erosion rates. These results indicate
that understory biomass, surface cover, and bulk density are the most
important characteristics influencing soil nutrient status and erosion
rates, and these three controlling factors are governed more by the
specific characteristics of different types of forests or agricultural
crops rather than the broad classification of land use (e.g., forest vs.
agriculture).
The substantial differences in vegetation and soil physical properties
among the specific land uses affect soil carbon and nutrient levels as
well as erosion rates, indicating an important feedback loop between
vegetation, soil conditions, and erosion rates. A simple characterization
of forest or non-forest is not sufficient to calculate carbon and nutrient
stocks, or to assess erosion risks. For these purposes, and for guiding
land management in hilly areas such as North Vietnam, more specific
information is needed on the local soils and vegetation characteristics.