Spatiotemporal Variation in Soil Available Potassium in Central and Western China

Spatiotemporal Variation in Soil Available Potassium in Central and Western China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Spatiotemporal Variation in Soil Available Potassium in Central and Western China Xiaoyan Li, Xiaodong song, Chengchao Yang, Ying Xiao, Yunpeng Hong, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8611241/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The status in soil Available Potassium (AK) and their spatiotemporal changes are essential for nutrient management and food security. However, research on the regional-scale variations in AK remains limited. Based on the data from 3,318 sites in the 1980s and 2010s, combined with a variety of machine learning methods, this study systematically assessed the spatial distribution and stock changes of available potassium density (AKD) in central and western China. The results show that the random forest model demonstrated strong predictive performance for both periods (RMSE : 0.55–0.59 g·m 2 , R²: 0.36–0.43). From the 1980s to the 2010s, the total AK stock in central and western China decreased by 12.65%. Natural ecosystems experienced a 16.01% reduction in stock due to ecological degradation and overgrazing, while agroecosystems saw a 12.71% increase in stock through enhanced potassium fertilizer application and improved soil management practices such as straw returning. Spatially, AKD was higher in the western regions and lower in the central regions. The available potassium stock on the Tibetan Plateau declined, whereas significant accumulation was observed in areas such as the Chengdu Plain and the Loess Plateau. Analysis of driving factors indicates that topography and climate were the dominant factors, with land use and vegetation playing important regulatory roles. The study underscores the necessity of high-resolution assessments of potassium dynamics, providing a scientific basis for precise nutrient management, arable land quality improvement, and regional agriculture and ecological restoration. digital soil mapping machine learning spatial heterogeneity driving factors Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 03 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 03 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 28 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 22 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 10 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 15 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8611241","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":594093015,"identity":"55925cf1-d8c2-4198-b581-515de2f24b19","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaoyan Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"State Key Laboratory of Soil and Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaoyan","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":594093016,"identity":"f647d8f1-0bd8-4e7a-b145-36b015df143c","order_by":1,"name":"Xiaodong 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However, research on the regional-scale variations in AK remains limited. Based on the data from 3,318 sites in the 1980s and 2010s, combined with a variety of machine learning methods, this study systematically assessed the spatial distribution and stock changes of available potassium density (AKD) in central and western China. The results show that the random forest model demonstrated strong predictive performance for both periods (RMSE : 0.55\u0026ndash;0.59 g\u0026middot;m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e, R\u0026sup2;: 0.36\u0026ndash;0.43). From the 1980s to the 2010s, the total AK stock in central and western China decreased by 12.65%. Natural ecosystems experienced a 16.01% reduction in stock due to ecological degradation and overgrazing, while agroecosystems saw a 12.71% increase in stock through enhanced potassium fertilizer application and improved soil management practices such as straw returning. Spatially, AKD was higher in the western regions and lower in the central regions. The available potassium stock on the Tibetan Plateau declined, whereas significant accumulation was observed in areas such as the Chengdu Plain and the Loess Plateau. Analysis of driving factors indicates that topography and climate were the dominant factors, with land use and vegetation playing important regulatory roles. The study underscores the necessity of high-resolution assessments of potassium dynamics, providing a scientific basis for precise nutrient management, arable land quality improvement, and regional agriculture and ecological restoration.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Spatiotemporal Variation in Soil Available Potassium in Central and Western China","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-20 07:16:44","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8611241/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-03-03T14:33:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-03T11:42:37+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-28T23:58:20+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-22T11:19:26+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"221050896109269767887380300626239877683","date":"2026-02-19T19:40:26+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"201763539729549776650527421000517180059","date":"2026-02-19T18:00:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"318460489564985099952791805855727212688","date":"2026-02-17T17:55:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-17T15:05:47+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-02-11T02:27:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-02-11T02:26:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","date":"2026-01-15T13:50:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-monitoring-and-assessment","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"emas","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Monitoring and Assessment](http://link.springer.com/journal/10661)","snPcode":"10661","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10661/3","title":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ce1379fd-6752-4264-8175-dd4d128f35b9","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 20th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-15T14:24:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-20 07:16:44","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8611241","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8611241","identity":"rs-8611241","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}