title: Seasonal changes in soil acidity and related properties in ginseng artificial bed soils under a plastic shade.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In Changbai Mountains, Panax ginseng (ginseng) was cultivated in a mixture of the humus and albic horizons of albic luvisol in a raised garden with plastic shade. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of ginseng planting on soil characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  The mixed-bed soils were seasonally collected at intervals of 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm, and 10-15 cm for different-aged ginsengs. Soil physico-chemical characteristics were studied using general methods. Aluminum was extracted from the soil solids with NH4Cl (exchangeable Al) and Na-pyrophosphate (organic Al) and was measured with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A remarkable decrease in the pH, concentrations of exchangeable calcium, NH4 (+), total organic carbon (TOC), and organic Al, as well as a pronounced increase in the bulk density were observed in the different-aged ginseng soils from one spring to the next. The decrease in pH in the ginseng soils was positively correlated with the [Formula: see text] (r = 0.463, p < 0.01), exchangeable calcium (r = 0.325, p < 0.01) and TOC (r = 0.292, p < 0.05) concentrations. The [Formula: see text] showed remarkable surface accumulation (0-5 cm) in the summer and even more in the autumn but declined considerably the next spring. The exchangeable Al fluctuated from 0.10 mg g(-1) to 0.50 mg g(-1) for dry soils, which was positively correlated with the [Formula: see text] (r = 0.401, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with the TOC (r = -0.329, p < 0.05). The Al saturation varied from 10% to 41% and was higher in the summer and autumn, especially in the 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm layers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, our study revealed a seasonal shift in soil characteristics in ginseng beds with plastic shade.
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Ecology and Environment Laboratory, College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jiangfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Ecology and Environment Laboratory, College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Ecology and Environment Laboratory, College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Soil and fertilizer Institution of Tonghua, Tonghua, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhongkai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: College of Resource and Environment, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhiguang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Agriculture Ecology and Environment Laboratory, College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhenming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
keywords: Panax ginseng; albic luvisols; exchangeable aluminum; soil characteristics