Application of principal component analysis to evaluation of black soil degradation in Jilin

Principal Component Analysis ( PCA ) can simplify the structure of database by replacing multi- dimensional parameters with relatively less comprehensive variables in order to ensure the minimum lost in ini- tial data. In this paper , eighteen black soil samples from different sites were tested and thirteen distinctive in- dexes were chosen to evaluate the degeneration of black soil. By using principal component analysis , variables of thirteen dimensions can be diminished to six unrelated principal indexes. Analysis shows that the soluble salt content , Fulvic acids ( FA ) and aggregation degree have a high weighing coefficient , indicating these three in- dexes are the major parts for the evaluation of black soil degradation. It also provides a new path to the degener- ated black soil treatment in Northeast China.