Effects of soil pH and texture on soil carbon and nitrogen in soil profiles under different land uses in Mun River Basin, Northeast Thailand

Soil carbon and nitrogen are essential factors for agricultural production and climate changes. A total of 106 soil samples from three agricultural lands (including two rice fields and one sugarcane field) and four non-agricultural lands (including two forest lands, one wasteland and one built-up land) in the Mun River Basin were collected to determine soil carbon, nitrogen, soil pH, soil particle sizes and explore the influence of pH and soil texture on soil C and N. The results show that total organic carbon (TOC) and nitrogen (TON) contents in topsoil (TOC: 2.78 ~ 18.83 g kg(−1); TON: 0.48 ~ 2.05 g kg(−1)) are much higher than those in deep soil (TOC: 0.35 ~ 6.08 g kg(−1); TON: <0.99 g kg(−1)). In topsoil, their contents of forest lands and croplands (TOC: average 15.37 g kg(−1); TON: average 1.29 g kg(−1)) are higher than those of other land uses (TOC: average 5.28 g kg(−1); TON: average 0.38 g kg(−1)). The pH values range from 4.2 to 6.1 in topsoil, and with increase in soil depth, they tend to increase and then decrease. Soil carbon, nitrogen and the C/N (TC/TN ratio) are negatively correlated with soil pH, demonstrating that relatively low pH benefits the accumulation of organic matter. Most soil samples are considered as sandy loam and silt loam from the percentages of clay, silt and sand. For soil profiles below 50 cm, the TOC and TON average contents of soil samples which contain more clay and silt are higher than those of other soil samples.