Rice Yield and Water Use as Affected by Soil Management Practices

A field experiment was conducted at the Shenyang Experimental Station of Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,to study the effects of soil management practices on water use and rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield in an aquic brown soil during 2001 and 2002. A completely random experimental design with three replications was employed, having four soil management practices as treatments, namely: an undisturbed plow layer (CK), a thin plastic film (TN), a thick plastic film (TI) and subsoil compacting (CP). Results indicated no significant differences arong all treatments for rice biomass and grain yields. Also, water consumption was about the same for treatments TN and CK, however the treatments TI and CP were much lower with more than 45% and 40% of the irrigation water in the treatments TI and CP, respectively,saved each year compared to CK. Therefore, water use efficiency was higher in the treatments TI and CP. These results will provide a scientific basis for the water-saving rice cultivation.

Vertical distribution of plant nematodes in an aquic brown soil under different land uses

The vertical distribution of the dominant genera of plant nematodes at the depth of 0-150 cm of an aquic brown soil were studied for four land use patterns, i.e., paddy field, maize field, fallow field and woodland in the Shenyang Experimental Station of Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in November of 2003. The results showed that the numbers of some dominant genera under different land uses decreased with the increase of soil depth. Helicotylenchus was most dominant genus under each land use type. Genera of Filenchus, Psilenchus and Tylenchus in paddy field occurred at the depth of 0-20 cm; while Paratylenchus in fallow field and woodland, as well as Pratylenchus in maize field presented in the deeper soil layers (0-80 cm). Significant correlations between the numbers of dominant genera of plant nematodes and soil chemical properties were found in this study. The number of Helicotylenchus under different land uses was positively correlated with C/N ratio, total C, total N, total P, alkai-N, and Olsen-P. The numbers of Filenchus and Paratylenchus in paddy field, Pratylenchus in maize field and Paratylenchus in fallow field were negatively correlated with soil pH, and positively correlated with total C, total N and alkai-N. This study results showed that it is essential to sample at a certain depth according to the vertical distribution information of different genera of plant nematodes in adequately assessing the population size of plant nematodes.

Profile Distribution and Storage of Soil Organic Carbon in an Aquic BrownSoil as Affected by Land Use

Many attempts have been made to estimate the soil organic carbon (SOC) storage under different land uses, especiallyfrom the conversion of forest land or grassland into cultivated field, but limited reports were found on the estimation ofthis storage after cultivated field converted into woodland or grassland, especially in small scales. This study is aimed toinvestigate the dynamics of SOC concentration, its storage and carbon /nitrogen (C/N) ratio in an aquic brown soil at theShenyang Experimental Station of Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences under four land use patterns over 14 years. Thefour land use patterns were paddy field (PF), maize field (MF), fallow field (FF) and woodland (WL). In each pedon at 0-150cm depth, soil samples were collected from ten layers. The results showed that the profile distribution of SOC was differentunder different land uses, indicating the effect of land use on SOC. Soil organic carbon was significantly related with soiltotal N, and the correlation was slightly closer in nature ecosystems (with R2=0.990 and P<0.001 in both WL and FF, n=30)than in agroecosystems (with R2=0.976 and P<0.001 in PF, and R2=0.980 and P<0.001 in MF, n=30). The C/N ratio in theprofiles decreased generally with depth under the four land use patterns, and was comparatively higher in WL and lowerin PF. The C/N ratio of the FF was closer to that in the same soil depths of MF than to that of PF. Within 100 cm depth, theannual sequestration of SOC was 4.25, 2.87, and 4.48 t ha-1 more in WL than in PF, MF and FF, the annual SOC increasingrate being 6.15, 3.26, and 5.09 % higher, respectively. As a result, the SOC storage was significantly greater in WL than inany of the other three land use patterns, P=0.001, 0.008, and 0.008 as compared with PF, MF, and FF, respectively, whilethere was no significant difference among the other three land uses. It is suggested that woodland has the potential tomake a significant contribution to C storage and environmental quality.