ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Soil Processes
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1614178
Geochemical Evaluation and Driving Factor Analysis of Soil 1 Salinization in Northeast China Plain
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shenyang Center of China Geological Survey, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
- 2Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
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The Songnen Plain in Northeast China is considered as one of the world's three 13 major saline-alkali land regions. However, the evaluation of the extent and degree of saline-alkali 14 land has primarily been mainly obtained via remote sensing interpretation, leading to 15 inconsistencies in data on salinization levels and the area of saline-alkali land. Random 16 Forest-based modeling of total salt-exchangeable cation-chemical composition relationships 17 facilitated high-precision spatial evaluation of soil salinization across Northeast China Plain. The 18 results show that: (1) Northeast China contains approximately 16.93 million hectares of salinized 19 or alkalinized zonal soils, where pH and salinity levels demonstrate statistically significant 20 positive correlations (p<0.01) with concentrations of chloride (Cl), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), 21 calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), and potassium (K). (2) Northeast China's Songliao Plain contains 6.92 22 million hectares of saline-alkali soils, exhibiting a distinct spatial gradient in soda salinization 23 chemistry: from sulfate-dominated in the northeast, transitioning through chloride-sulfate 24 composite zones, to carbonate and finally chloride-dominated types in the southwest. (3) Chloride 25 and bicarbonate dominate the saline-alkali soils, primarily distributed in low plains (<200m 26 elevation) with distinct spatial zonation. (4) Since the 1980s, strongly alkaline soils (pH>9.5) 27 have expanded by 80,300 ha/year, accompanied by significant organic matter and 28 nitrogen depletion. Research indicates that integrated 29 topography-hydrogeology-climate factors drive soil salinization, while consistent and 30 stable farming practices can mitigate its progression.
Keywords: Random Forest modeling, Soil salinization, geochemistry, Saline-alkali soil, Northeast China
Received: 18 Apr 2025; Accepted: 26 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huimin, Chaoqun, Kai, Fang, Li, Yang, Fang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Dai Huimin, Shenyang Center of China Geological Survey, Shenyang, 110000, Liaoning Province, China
Chen Chaoqun, Shenyang Center of China Geological Survey, Shenyang, 110000, Liaoning Province, China
Liu Kai, Shenyang Center of China Geological Survey, Shenyang, 110000, Liaoning Province, China
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