AccScience Publishing / AJWEP / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/AJWEP025410318
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

A multi-model simulation of four-decade changes in the physical and chemical properties of black soil profiles in Hailun, Heilongjiang

Xidong Zhao1,2 ,  Yueyu Sui3 ,  Yao Wang3 ,  Ke Yang1,2 ,  Chuanfang Zhou1,2,4* ,  Zongyue Lu4,5,6*
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1 Environmental Geology Survey Office, Harbin Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
2 Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone in Black Soil, Harbin, Ministry of Natural Resources, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
3 Soil Resources and Utilization Research Group, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
4 Department of Structural Geology, School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
5 Mineral Resources Investigation Office, Center for Geophysical Survey, China Geological Survey, Langfang, Hebei, China
6 Technology Innovation Center for Earth Near Surface Detection, China Geological Survey, Langfang, Hebei, China
AJWEP, 025410318 https://doi.org/10.36922/AJWEP025410318
Received: 12 October 2025 | Revised: 5 November 2025 | Accepted: 11 November 2025 | Published online: 3 December 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The black soil region in Northeast China is an important grain-producing area and ecological barrier in our country, and changes in its soil quality are directly related to national food security and ecological sustainability. This study systematically analyzes the temporal and spatial evolution of soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density, pH, and total nitrogen (TN) in black soils over the past four decades (1980–2021) using soil profile data from the Hailun area of Heilongjiang, China. It quantitatively evaluated three key degradation issues: acidification, thinning, and hardening. To reconstruct and validate historical data gaps, the study employed a dual-carbon-pool vertical-attenuation model, a two-component mixture model, a geochemical equilibrium and migration model, and a process-data fusion model. The results show that SOC content in surface soils decreased by 42.3%, TN decreased by 31.4%, pH declined by an average of 0.23 units, and bulk density increased by 12.5%. The patterns of soil degradation differed significantly among soil types, with meadow soils showing the most severe degradation, while paddy soils remained relatively stable. The study further revealed the cascade degradation mechanism of carbon reduction, soil acidification, nitrogen loss, and soil compaction, providing a scientific basis for protecting and sustainably utilizing black soil. 

Keywords
Black soil
Soil organic carbon
Bulk density
Total nitrogen
Temporal evolution
Spatial evolution
Funding
This study was supported by the project Evaluation of Gold Resource Potential in the Jiaohe Area of the Jilin Central Metallogenic Belt (DD20242940).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, Electronic ISSN: 1875-8568 Print ISSN: 0972-9860, Published by AccScience Publishing
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