Fractal Characteristics of Soil Particles and Soil Properties of Typical Forest Stands in Eastern Mountainous Liaoning Province of Northeast China

Key Points

• This research aims to investigate the fractal characteristics of soil particles and how they relate to soil properties in different forest stands in Liaoning Province.
• Selected various forest types, including natural and plantation forests, in Qingyuan County as study sites.
• Analyzed soil particle size composition, physicochemical properties, and fractal dimensions using treeless plots as controls.
• Conducted multifractal analysis to assess spatial distribution and relationships between soil characteristics.
• Soil particle size compositions in all forest stands were dominated by sand, with excellent sorting and narrow peaks.
• Average particle size and single-fractal dimensions were significantly higher in forest stands compared to control plots.
• A positive correlation exists between single-fractal dimension and clay/silt volume fractions, indicating soil quality improvement under forest protection.