Research on the relationship between vegetation and soil resource patterns on lands abandoned at different times

- Dominant species in succession play a primary role in resource islands formation.
- Resource islands developed during vegetative succession.
- There are different soil resource patch sizes on different abandoned time lands.
- There are different soil parameter patterns on different abandoned time lands.

Many studies on the effect of vegetation on soil resources have compared the patterns of soil resources in different land environments. Few studies have compared the spatial pattern of soil resources in different secondary succession stages. Although various studies have evaluated the heterogeneous soil resources patterns caused by vegetation, few have provided high-resolution analyses of heterogeneous soil resource patterns on a fine scale, with the exception of trees and shrubs. This study has been performed on four abandoned farms (abandoned for 4, 12, 22, and 50 years) to evaluate the dynamic effect of vegetation on soil resource patterns at the scale of herbaceous plants. It was found that dominant species in a vegetation family at a given succession stage will play a primary role in the formation of resource islands. Resource islands developed during vegetative succession and subsequently change the patterns of soil resources. There are different soil resource patch sizes and soil parameter patterns on farms abandoned for different periods. A method was developed for this study called the Integration of Geostatistics, Point pattern analysis and Spatial comparison to provide an effective method to research the effect of vegetation on soil resource patterns at a fine scale.