Where is chestnut soil distributed in China? What is suitable for growing?

Chestnut soil, as its name suggests, is a soil developed under the natural vegetation of steppe in temperate semi-arid climate. It has a soft surface layer and calcium layer appears in some parts within 1m. The typical profile configuration is Ah-Bk-C. The whole profile is saturated with salt base, pH 7.5~9.0. So, in which areas of China are chestnut soils distributed? What is suitable for planting? First, let's look at the characteristics of chestnut soil.

Chestnut soil is characterized by chestnut color in the upper part of the profile and hyphae or patchy or reticulate calcareous layers in the lower part. Most chestnut soils have been classified as soft soils in the American Soil Taxonomy. Such soils are called brown soils in France and brown and dark brown soils in Canada. In FAO and UNESCO classifications, the name chestnut soil is still used.

Chestnut soil can be divided into common chestnut soil, dark chestnut soil, light chestnut soil, meadow chestnut soil, salt chestnut soil, alkaline chestnut soil and chestnut soil. All these soils have obvious humus accumulation and lime eluviation-deposition processes, and weak gypsum and salinization processes. The surface layer is maroon or dark maroon humus, the thickness is 25~45 cm, and the organic matter content is mostly 1.5~4.0%; below the humus layer is a calcium layer containing a large amount of gray or powdery lime, and the lime content is 10~30%.

Chestnut soil is widely distributed in North China, mainly in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The soil properties of chestnut soil in China showed obvious regional differences. Chestnut soil in the eastern Inner Mongolia Plateau has the characteristics of less humus, less salinization, less alkalization, no gypsum or deep gypsum and weak clayization, while gypsum and salt accumulation in the subsoil of western Xinjiang have different amounts, and the humus content is relatively high, but the soil has no alkalization and clayization.

Chestnut soil humus content is less than black soil, is a relatively fertile soil, not only the main animal husbandry base, but also a lot of dry farming. Chestnut soil is suitable for both farming and animal husbandry, but rain-fed dry farming is limited by precipitation. The general utilization direction should be mainly grazing, as a natural grazing and mowing field, and properly develop dry farming and irrigation.

Considering the history and present situation, dark chestnut soil should be dominated by agriculture and combine agriculture with forestry; chestnut soil should be dominated by grazing, combine agriculture with forestry, and seriously eroded sloping farmland should be converted to grazing; meadow chestnut soil should be combined with agriculture and animal husbandry; other sub-classes are dominated by grazing.

Chestnut soil is suitable for planting cold-resistant crops, mainly wheat, oats, beans, corn, flax, etc.; frost-free areas are also planted with millet, corn and sorghum.