自1971年FAO提出“土壤退化”的概念并出版Land Degradation以来,土壤退化问题日益受到人们的关注。随着土壤退化及土壤质量下降对全球食物安全、环境质量及人畜健康影响的日益凸显,土壤退化的研究已成为全球环境变化研究的重要组成部分,尤其是土壤退化的发生过程、机理和演变动态是目前土壤退化研究的前沿和热点问题。中国西南喀斯特山区位于世界三大连片喀斯特发育区之一的东亚片区中心,喀斯特地貌广泛发育,地形条件复杂,生态环境脆弱,土壤侵蚀退化严重。结合西南喀斯特地区的地质地理背景、生态环境特性从生物、化学、物理等角度对西南喀斯特地区土壤退化的过程与机理进行了分析和探讨。西南喀斯特地区的环境脆弱性只是土壤严重侵蚀退化的前提或内因,日益尖锐的人地矛盾导致的植被破坏和退化才是喀斯特土壤侵蚀退化的关键驱动力。西南喀斯特山区土壤退化的过程即是土壤结构劣化、土壤质地和孔隙性变差、土壤水分性能退化、土壤贫瘠化的过程,以上各退化要素形成相互影响相互催化的正反馈循环,加剧土壤的迅速退化。其中,土壤水分和土壤肥力尤其是土壤水分是喀斯特地区土壤退化关键退化因子。
With the increasingly severe effects of soil degradation on the global food supply, on environment quality, and human and animal health, the study of soil degradation has become one of the most important research fields in the area of global environment changes. The processes, mechanisms, and evolution of humaninduced soil degradation are current hot issues in soil degradation research. The southwest karst area of China is located in the center of the east Asia karst area, one of the three largest karst areas in the world. Its environment is very fragile and its soil is in severe degradation. The degradation processes and mechanisms of the soils in the southwest karst area have been analyzed and are discussed from biological, chemical and physical points of view in this paper, and in light of the special geologic background and environmental system of the southwest karst area. Environmental fragility is only the premise of severe soil degradation, but vegetation damage induced by destructive human-soll interaction is the key driving force, or "the last straw". Soil degradation in the southwest karst area includes the processes of soil structure and soil texture degradation, a loss of soil water capacity and soil infertility. These degradation factors interact on and catalyze each other, thus making up a positive feedback cycle. Therefore, the degradation of soil water capacity and soil infertility are the key degradation factors.