Distribution characteristics of organic carbon (nitrogen) content, cation exchange capacity, and specific surface area in different soil particle sizes

Abstract Understanding the distribution of soil organic carbon and nitrogen (OC(N)) content, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and specific surface area (SSA) in different soil particle sizes is crucial for studying soil fertility and properties. In this study, we investigated the distribution characteristics of the OC(N), CECand SSA in different particles of yellow–brown soil under different methods. The result revealed that as the particle size decreased, the soil OC(N), SSA and CEC content gradually increase. The content of OC and ON different soil particles ranged from 1.50–28.16 g·kg −1 to 0.18–3.78 g·kg −1 , respectively, and exhibited significant differences between different particles. We observed good linear relationships between OC and ON in different particle sizes of yellow–brown soil under different utilization methods, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.86 to 0.98, reaching a very significant level (n = 12, p < 0.01). The ranges of SSA and CEC in different particles of the four soils were 0.30–94.70 m 2 ·g −1 and 0.70–62.91 cmol·kg −1 , respectively. Additionally, we found logarithmic relationships between SSA (CEC) and the equivalent diameter for the four soils, with correlation coefficients (r 2 ) higher than 0.91. Furthermore, there was an extremely significant linear relationship between CEC and SSA of the four soils, with correlation coefficients (r 2 ) of 0.92–0.97 (n = 12, p < 0.01). These results highlight the close relationship between soil particle size and soil OC(N), SSA, and CEC. The conclusions drawn from this study provide valuable data support and a theoretical basis for further understanding soil properties.