Buried straw layer and plastic mulching increase microflora diversity in salinized soil

Salt stress has been increasingly constraining crop productivity in arid lands of the world. In our recent study, salt stress was aleviated and crop productivity was improved remarkably by straw layer burial plus plastic iflm mulching in a saline soil. However, its impact on the microlfora diversity is not wel documented. Field micro-plot experiments were conducted from 2010 to 2011 using four tilage methods： （i） deep tilage with plastic iflm mulching （CK）, （i） straw layer burial at 40 cm （S）, （ii） straw layer burial plus surface soil mulching with straw material （S＋S）, and （iv） plastic iflm mulching plus buried straw layer （P＋S）. Culturable microbes and predominant bacterial communities were studied; based on 16S rDNA, bacterial com-munity structure and abundance were characterized using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） and polymerase chain reaction （PCR）. Results showed that P＋S was the most favorable for culturable bacteria, actinomyces and fungi and induced the most diverse genera of bacteria compared to other tilage methods. Soil temperature had signiifcant positive correlations with the number of bacteria, actinomyces and fungi （P〈0.01）. However, soil water was poorly correlated with any of the microbes. Salt content had a signiifcant negative correlation with the number of microbers, especialy for bacteria and fungi （P〈0.01）. DGGE analysis showed that the P＋S exhibited the highest diversity of bacteria with 20 visible bands folowed by S＋S, S and CK. Moreover, P＋S had the highest similarity （68%） of bacterial communities with CK. The major bacterial genera in al soil samples wereFirmicutes,Proteobacteria andActinobacteria. Given the considerable increase in microbial growth, the combined use of straw layer burial and plastic iflm mulching could be a practical option for aleviating salt stress effects on soil microbial community and thereby improving crop production in arid saline soils.

Effect of salinization on soil properties and mechanisms beneficial to microorganisms in salinized soil remediation-a review

Salinized soil is an important reserved arable land resource in China.The management and utilization of salinized soil can safeguard the current size of arable land and a stable grain yield.Salt accumulation will lead to the deterioration of soil properties,destroy soil production potential and damage soil ecological functions,which in turn will threaten global water and soil resources and food security,and affect sustainable socio-economic development.Microorganisms are important components of salinized soil.Microbial remediation is an important research tool in improving salinized soil and is key to realizing sustainable development of agriculture and the ecosystem.Knowledge about the impact of salinization on soil properties and measures using microorganisms in remediation of salinized soil has grown over time.However,the mechanisms governing these impacts and the ecological principles for microbial remediation are scarce.Thus,it is imperative to summarize the effects of salinization on soil physical,chemical,and microbial properties,and then review the related mechanisms of halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms in salinized soil remediation via direct and indirect pathways.The stability,persistence,and safety of the microbial remediation effect is also highlighted in this review to further promote the application of microbial remediation in salinized soil.The objective of this review is to provide reference and theoretical support for the improvement and utilization of salinized soil.

Experimental investigation into the salinity effect on the physicomechanical properties of carbonate saline soil

For engineering structures with saline soil as a filling material,such as channel slope,road subgrade,etc.,the rich soluble salt in the soil is an important potential factor affecting their safety performance.This study examines the Atterberg limits,shear strength,and compressibility of carbonate saline soil samples with different NaHCO3 contents in Northeast China.The mechanism underlying the influence of salt content on soil macroscopic properties was investigated based on a volumetric flask test,a mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)test,and a scanning electron microscopic(SEM)test.The results demonstrated that when NaHCO3 contents were lower than the threshold value of 1.5%,the bound water film adsorbed on the surface of clay particles thickened continuously,and correspondingly,the Atterberg limits and plasticity index increased rapidly as the increase of sodium ion content.Meanwhile,the bonding force between particles was weakened,the dispersion of large aggregates was enhanced,and the soil structure became looser.Macroscopically,the compressibility increased and the shear strength(mainly cohesion)decreased by 28.64%.However,when the NaHCO3 content exceeded the threshold value of 1.5%,the salt gradually approached solubility and filled the pores between particles in the form of crystals,resulting in a decrease in soil porosity.The cementation effect generated by salt crystals increased the bonding force between soil particles,leading to a decrease in plasticity index and an improvement in soil mechanical properties.Moreover,this work provides valuable suggestions and theoretical guidance for the scientific utilization of carbonate saline soil in backfill engineering projects.

Climate and topography regulate the spatial pattern of soil salinization and its effects on shrub community structure in Northwest China

Soil salinization may affect biodiversity and species composition,leading to changes in the plant community structure.However,few studies have explored the spatial pattern of soil salinization and its effects on shrub community structure at the ecosystem scale.Therefore,we conducted a transect sampling of desert shrublands in Northwest China during the growing season(June–September)in 2021.Soil salinization(both the degree and type),shrub community structure(e.g.,shrub density and height),and biodiversity parameters(e.g.,Simpson diversity,Margalf abundance,Shannon-Wiener diversity,and Pielou evenness indices)were used to assess the effects of soil salinization on shrub community structure.The results showed that the primary degree of soil salinization in the study area was light salinization,with the area proportion of 69.8%.Whereas the main type of soil salinization was characterized as sulfate saline soil,also accounting for 69.8%of the total area.Notably,there was a significant reduction in the degree of soil salinization and a shift in the type of soil salinization from chloride saline soil to sulfate saline soil,with an increase in longitude.Regional mean annual precipitation(MAP),mean annual evapotranspiration(MAE),elevation,and slope significantly contributed to soil salinization and its geochemical differentiation.As soil salinization intensified,shrub community structure displayed increased diversity and evenness,as indicated by the increases in the Simpson diversity,Shannon-Wiener diversity,and Pielou evenness indices.Moreover,the succulent stems and leaves of Chenopodiaceae and Tamaricaceae exhibited clear advantages under these conditions.Furthermore,regional climate and topography,such as MAP,MAE,and elevation,had greater effects on the distribution of shrub plants than soil salinization.These results provide a reference for the origin and pattern of soil salinization in drylands and their effects on the community structure of halophyte shrub species.

Thermal-water-salt coupling process of unsaturated saline soil under unidirectional freezing

Salinization and desertification are closely related to water-salt migration caused by a temperature gradient.Based on the Darcy Law of unsaturated soils,the law of energy conservation and the law of mass conservation,the thermal-water-salt coupling mathematical model of unsaturated frozen saline soil was established.The model considered the latent heat of phase change,crystallization impedance,crystallization consumption and complete precipitation of solute crystallization in ice.In order to verify the rationality of the model,the unidirectional freezing test of unsaturated saline soil was carried out in an open system with no-pressure water supplement to obtain the spatial distribution of temperature,moisture and salt in the saline soil.Finally,numerical simulations are implemented with the assistance of COMSOL Multiphysics.Validation of the model is illustrated by comparisons between the simulation and experimental data.The results demonstrated that the temperature within saline soil changes with time and can be divided into three stages,namely quick freezing stage,transitional stage and stable stage.The water and salt contents in the freezing zone are layered,with peak values at the freezing front.The coupled model could reveal the heat-mass migration mechanism of unsaturated frozen saline soil and dynamically describe the freezing depth and the movement law of the freezing front,ice and salt crystal formation mechanism,and the change law of thermal conductivity and permeability coefficient.

Accelerated Deterioration Mechanism and Reliability Evaluation of Concrete in Saline Soil Area

To reveal the deterioration mechanism and service life of concrete durability in the western saline soil area,the indoor accelerated test of the concrete specimen was simulated in the coupled environment of salt erosion and dry-wet cycles in the west saline soil area of China.The deterioration mechanism of concrete durability was revealed through the relative dynamic elastic modulus,relative quality evaluation parameters,SEM,and XRD evaluation indexes.Random Wiener distribution function was used for modeling life prediction.The results show that the relative dynamic elastic modulus evaluation parameter as an evaluation index of concrete durability under various environmental coupling effects is more reliable than the relative quality,there were holes and cracks in the concrete,and needle-like and layered crystals grow from the internal cracks.The corrosion products include ettringite,gypsum and other expansive crystals and non-gelling Mg(OH)_(2);the expansion stress caused by physical,chemical reaction,and temperature change under the action of drywet cycle aggravates the formation and development of cracks.The random Wiener distribution function can describe the degradation process of concrete specimen durability,and the established concrete reliability function can intuitively reflect the service life of concrete specimens.

Maize straw application as an interlayer improves organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations in the soil profile: A four-year experiment in a saline soil

Soil salinization is a critical environmental issue restricting agricultural production.Deep return of straw to the soil as an interlayer (at 40 cm depth) has been a popular practice to alleviate salt stress.However,the legacy effects of straw added as an interlayer at different rates on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in saline soils still remain inconclusive.Therefore,a four-year (2015–2018) field experiment was conducted with four levels (i.e.,0,6,12and 18 Mg ha~(–1)) of straw returned as an interlayer.Compared with no straw interlayer (CK),straw addition increased SOC concentration by 14–32 and 11–57%in the 20–40 and 40–60 cm soil layers,respectively.The increases in soil TN concentration (8–22 and 6–34%in the 20–40 and 40–60 cm soil layers,respectively) were lower than that for SOC concentration,which led to increased soil C:N ratio in the 20–60 cm soil depth.Increases in SOC and TN concentrations in the 20–60 cm soil layer with straw addition led to a decrease in stratification ratios (0–20 cm:20–60 cm),which promoted uniform distributions of SOC and TN in the soil profile.Increases in SOC and TN concentrations were associated with soil salinity and moisture regulation and improved sunflower yield.Generally,compared with other treatments,the application of 12 Mg ha~(–1) straw had higher SOC,TN and C:N ratio,and lower soil stratification ratio in the2015–2017 period.The results highlighted that legacy effects of straw application as an interlayer were maintained for at least four years,and demonstrated that deep soil straw application had a great potential for improving subsoil fertility in salt-affected soils.

Evaluation of Corrosion Degradation Law of Recycled Reinforced Concrete in Saline Soil Under Electrified Environment

In order to investigate the corrosion mechanism of recycled reinforced concrete (RRC) under harsh environments,four recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) contents were selected,and saline soil was used as an electrolyte to perform electrified accelerated corrosion experiments.The relative dynamic elastic modulus and relative corrosion current density were considered to describe the deterioration law of the RRC in saline soil.The results indicated that as the energization time increased,the corrosion current density,corrosion potential,and polarization resistance of the steel bar decreased gradually.Compared with ordinary reinforced concrete,when the RCA content was 30%,the ability of the RRC to resist corrosion was improved slightly;however,when the RCA content exceeded 30%,the corrosion resistance of the RRC deteriorated rapidly.Scanning electron microscopy revealed that for a dense RRC,less corrosion products were generated in the pores inside the concrete and on the surface of the steel bar.X-ray diffraction results indicated that SO_(4)^(2-) can generate ettringite and other corrosion products,along with volume expansion.The main corrosion products generated on the surface of the steel bars included Fe_(2)O_(3),Fe_(3)O_(4) and FeO(OH),which were the corrosion products generated by steel bars under natural environments.Therefore,using saline soil as an electrolyte is more consistent with the actual service environments of RRC.Both the relative dynamic mode and relative corrosion current density of the degradation parameters conform to the Weibull distribution;furthermore,the relative dynamic mode is more sensitive and the corresponding reliability curve can better describe the degradation law of RRC under saline soil environments.

Approach of water-salt regulation using micro-sprinkler irrigation in two coastal saline soils

This study aimed to investigate whether saline silt and sandy loam coastal soils could be reclaimed by micro-sprinkler irrigation.The experiments were run using moderately salt-tolerant tall fescue grass.Micro-sprinkler irrigation in three stages was used to regulate soil matric potential at a 20-cm soil depth.Continued regulation of soil water and salt through micro-sprinkler irrigation consistently resulted in an increasingly large low-salinity region.The application of the three stages of soil wateresalt regulation resulted in an absence of salt accumulation throughout the soil profile and the conversion of highly saline soils into moderately saline soils.There were increases in the plant height,leaf width,leaf length,and tiller numbers of tall fescue throughout the leaching process.The results showed that micro-sprinkler irrigation in three soil water and salt regulation stages can be used to successfully cultivate tall festuca in highly saline coastal soil.This approach achieved better effects in sandy loam soil than in silt soil.Tall fescue showed greater survival rates in sandy loam soil due to the rapid reclamation process,whereas plant growth was higher in silt soil because of effective water conservation.In sandy loam,soil moisture should be maintained during soil reclamation,and in silt soil,soil root-zone environments optimal for the emergence of plants should be quickly established.Micro-sprinkler irrigation can be successfully applied to the cultivation of tall fescue in coastal heavy saline soils under a three-stage soil wateresalt regulation regime.

Leaching Fraction (LF) of Irrigation Water for Saline Soils Using Machine Learning

Soil salinity is a serious land degradation issue in agriculture.It is a major threat to agriculture productivity.Extra irrigation water is applied to leach down the salts from the root zone of the plants in the form of a Leaching fraction(LF)of irrigation water.For the leaching process to be effective,the LF of irriga-tion water needs to be adjusted according to the environmental conditions and soil salinity level in the form of Evapotranspiration(ET)rate.The relationship between environmental conditions and ET rate is hard to be defined by a linear relationship and data-driven Machine learning(ML)based decisions are required to determine the calibrated Evapotranspiration(ETc)rate.ML-assisted ETc is pro-posed to adjust the LF according to the ETc and soil salinity level.A regression model is proposed to determine the ETc rate according to the prevailing tempera-ture,humidity,and sunshine,which would be used to determine the smart LF according to the ETc and soil salinity level.The proposed model is trained and tested against the Blaney Criddle method of Reference evapotranspiration(ETo)determination.The validation of the model from the test dataset reveals the accu-racy of the ML model in terms of Root mean squared errors(RMSE)are 0.41,Mean absolute errors(MAE)are 0.34,and Mean squared errors(MSE)are 0.28 mm day-1.The applications of the proposed solution in a real-time environ-ment show that the LF by the proposed solution is more effective in reducing the soil salinity as compared to the traditional process of leaching.

Effects of Groundwater with Various Salinities on Evaporation and Redistribution of Water and Salt in Saline-sodic Soils in Songnen Plain,Northeast China

Groundwater mineralization is one of the main factors affecting the transport of soil water and salt in saline-sodic areas.To investigate the effects of groundwater with different levels of salinity on evaporation and distributions of soil water and salt in Songnen Plain,Northeast China,five levels of groundwater sodium adsorption ration of water(SARw)and total salt content(TSC mmol/L)were conducted in an oil column lysimeters.The five treated groundwater labeled as ST0:0,ST0:10,ST5:40,ST10:70 and ST20:100,were prepared with NaCl and CaCl2 in proportion,respectively.The results showed the groundwater evaporation(GWE)and soil evaporation(SE)increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of groundwater salinity.The values of GWE and SE in ST10:70 treatment were the highest,which were 2.09 and 1.84 times the values in the ST0:0 treatment with the lowest GWE and SE.There was a positive linear correlation between GWE and the Ca^(2+)content in groundwater,with R^(2)=0.998.The soil water content(SWC)of ST0:0 treatment was significantly(P<0.05)less than those of other treatments during the test.The SWC of the ST0:0 and ST0:10 treatments increased with the increase of soil depth,while the other treatments showed the opposite trend.Statistical analysis indicated the SWC in the 0–60 cm soil layer was positively correlated with the groundwater TSC and its ion contents during the test.Salt accumulation occurred in the topsoil and the salt accumulation in the 0–20 cm soil layer was significantly(P<0.05)greater than that in the subsoil.This study revealed the effects of the salinity level of groundwater,especially the Ca^(2+)content and TSC of groundwater,on the GWE and distributions of soil water and salt,which provided important support for the prevention and reclamation of soil salinization and sodificaton in shallow groundwater regions.

Reclamation of Coastal Soil Salinity towards Sustainable Rice Production and Mitigating Global Warming Potentials in the Changing Climate

Soil salinity has become a major constraint to rice productivity in the coastal region of Bangladesh, which threatened food security. Therefore, field experiment was conducted at salt stressed Shyamnagor Upazilla of Satkhira district to improve the soil salinity status, sustainable rice production and suppression of global warming potentials. Selected soil amendments viz. trichocompost, tea waste compost, azolla compost and phospho-gypsum (PG) were applied in the field plots one week prior to rice transplanting. In addition, proline solution (25 mM) was applied on the transplanted rice plants at active vegetative stage. Gas samples from the paddy field were collected by Closed Chamber technique and analyzed in by Gas Chromatograph. The 25% replacement of chemical fertilizer (i.e., 75% NPKS) with trichocompost, tea waste compost, Azolla compost and Phospho-gypsum amendments increased grain yield by 4.7% - 7.0%, 2.3% - 7.1% 11.9% - 16.6% and 9.5% - 14.2% during dry boro rice cultivation, while grain yield increments of 5.0% - 7.6%, 2.3% - 10.2%, 12.8% - 15.3% and 10.2% - 15.3% were recorded in wet Aman season respectively, compared to chemically fertilized (100% NPKS) field plot. The least GWPs 3575 and 3650 kg CO2 eq./ha were found in PG Cyanobacterial mixture with proline (T10) and tea waste compost with proline (T8) amended rice field, while the maximum GWPs 4725 and 4500 kg CO2 eq./ha were recorded in NPKS fertilized (100%, T2) and NPKS (75%) with Azolla compost (T5) amended plots during dry boro rice cultivation. The overall soil properties improved significantly with the selected soil amendments, while soil electrical conductivity (EC), soil pH and Na+ cation in the amended soil decreased, eventually improved the soil salinity status. Conclusively, phospho-gypsum amendments with cyanobacteria inoculation and proline solution (25 mM) application could be an effective option to reclaim coastal saline soils, sustaining rice productivity and reducing global warming potentials.

An improved algorithm for retrieving thin sea ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean from SMOS and SMAP L-band radiometer data

The aim of this study was to develop an improved thin sea ice thickness(SIT)retrieval algorithm in the Arctic Ocean from the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity and Soil Moisture Active Passive L-band radiometer data.This SIT retrieval algorithm was trained using the simulated SIT from the cumulative freezing degree days model during the freeze-up period over five carefully selected regions in the Beaufort,Chukchi,East Siberian,Laptev and Kara seas and utilized the microwave polarization ratio(PR)at incidence angle of 40°.The improvements of the proposed retrieval algorithm include the correction for the sea ice concentration impact,reliable reference SIT data over different representative regions of the Arctic Ocean and the utilization of microwave polarization ratio that is independent of ice temperature.The relationship between the SIT and PR was found to be almost stable across the five selected regions.The SIT retrievals were then compared to other two existing algorithms(i.e.,UH_SIT from the University of Hamburg and UB_SIT from the University of Bremen)and validated against independent SIT data obtained from moored upward looking sonars(ULS)and airborne electromagnetic(EM)induction sensors.The results suggest that the proposed algorithm could achieve comparable accuracies to UH_SIT and UB_SIT with root mean square error(RMSE)being about 0.20 m when validating using ULS SIT data and outperformed the UH_SIT and UB_SIT with RMSE being about 0.21 m when validatng using EM SIT data.The proposed algorithm can be used for thin sea ice thickness(<1.0 m)estimation in the Arctic Ocean and requires less auxiliary data in the SIT retrieval procedure which makes its implementation more practical.

Ecological problems and ecological restoration zoning of the Aral Sea

The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world but it has shrunk dramatically as a result of irrational human activities, triggering the "Aral Sea ecological crisis". The ecological problems of the Aral Sea have attracted widespread attention, and the alleviation of the Aral Sea ecological crisis has reached a consensus among the five Central Asian countries(Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan). In the past decades, many ecological management measures have been implemented for the ecological restoration of the Aral Sea. However, due to the lack of regional planning and zoning, the results are not ideal. In this study, we mapped the ecological zoning of the Aral Sea from the perspective of ecological restoration based on soil type, soil salinity, surface water, groundwater table, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), land cover, and aerosol optical depth(AOD) data. Soil salinization and salt dust are the most prominent ecological problems in the Aral Sea. We divided the Aral Sea into 7 first-level ecological restoration subregions(North Aral Sea catchment area in the downstream of the Syr Darya River(Subregion Ⅰ);artificial flood overflow area in the downstream of the Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅱ);physical/chemical remediation area of the salt dust source area in the eastern part of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅲ);physical/chemical remediation area of severe salinization in the central part of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅳ);existing water surface and potential restoration area of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅴ);Aral Sea vegetation natural recovery area(Subregion Ⅵ);and vegetation planting area with slight salinization in the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅶ)) and 14 second-level ecological restoration subregions according to the ecological zoning principles. Implementable measures are proposed for each ecological restoration subregion. For Subregion Ⅰ and Subregion Ⅱ with lower elevations, artificial flooding should be carried out to restore the surface of the Aral Sea. Subregion Ⅲ and Subregion Ⅳ have severe salinization, making it difficult for vegetation to grow. In these subregions, it is recommended to cover and pave the areas with green biomatrix coverings and environmentally sustainable bonding materials. In Subregion Ⅴ located in the central and western parts of the South Aral Sea, surface water recharge should be increased to ensure that this subregion can maintain normal water levels. In Subregion Ⅵ and Subregion Ⅶ where natural conditions are suitable for vegetation growth, measures such as afforestation and buffer zones should be implemented to protect vegetation. This study could provide a reference basis for future comprehensive ecological management and restoration of the Aral Sea.

Saline soil enzyme activities of four plant communities in Sangong River basin of Xinjiang,China

Soil enzyme activity plays an important role in the conversion of soil organic carbon into inorganic carbon, which is significant for the global carbon cycle. In this study, we investigated the soil enzyme activities of two ligninolytic enzymes （peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase） and five non-ligninolytic enzymes （a-l,4-glucosidase （AG）; 13-1,4-gluco- sidase （BG）; N-acetyl-[3-glucosaminidase （NAG）; ~3-D-cellobiosidase （CBH）; and ^-xylosidase （BXYL）） in four plant communities of the Sangong River basin in Fukang, North Xinjiang, China. The four typical plant communities were dominated by Haloxylon ammodendron, Reaumuria soongonica, Salsola passerina, and Tamarix rarmosissima, respec- tively, with saline soils of varied alkalinity. The results showed that the soil peroxidase activity decreased seasonally. The activities of the five non-ligninolytic enzymes decreased with increasing soil depths, while those of the two ligninolytic enzymes did not show such a trend. In the four plant communities, BG had the highest activity among the five non-ligninolytic enzymes, and the activities of the two ligninolytic enzymes were higher than those of the four non-ligninolytic ones （AG, NAG, CBH, and BXYL）. The community of H. ammodendron displayed the highest activity with respect to the two ligninolytic enzymes in most cases, but no significant differences were found among the four plant communities. The geometric mean of soil enzyme activities of the four plant communities was validated through an inde- pendently performed principal component analysis （PCA）, which indicated that different plant communities had different soil enzyme activities. The correlation analysis showed that soil polyphenol oxidase activity was significantly positively correlated with the activities of the five non-ligninolytic enzymes. The soil pH value was positively correlated with the ac- tivities of all soil enzymes except peroxidase. Soil microbial carbon content also showed a significant positive correlation （P〈0.01） with the activities of all soil enzymes except polyphenol oxidase. The results suggested that the H. ammoden- dron community has the highest ability to utilize soil organic carbon, and glucoside could be the most extensively utilized non-ligninolytic carbon source in the saline soil of arid areas in Xinjiang.

Effects of water application intensity of microsprinkler irrigation on water and salt environment and crop growth in coastal saline soils

Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of water application intensity（WAI） on soil salinity management and the growth of Festuca arundinacea（festuca） under three stages of water and salt management strategies using microsprinkler irrigation in Hebei Province, North China. The soil water content（è） and salinity of homogeneous coastal saline soils were evaluated under different water application intensities in the laboratory experiment. The results indicated that the WAI of microsprinkler irrigation influenced the è, electrical conductivity（ECe） and p H of saline soils. As the WAI increased, the average values of è and ECe in the 0–40 cm profile also increased, while their average values in the 40–60 cm profile decreased. The p H value also slightly decreased as depth increased, but no significant differences were observed between the different treatments. The time periods of the water redistribution treatments had no obvious effects. Based on the results for è, ECe and p H, a smaller WAI was more desirable. The field experiment was conducted after being considered the results of the technical parameter experiment and evaporation, wind and leaching duration. The field experiment included three stages of water and salt regulation, based on three soil matric potentials（SMP）, in which the SMP at a 20-cm depth below the surface was used to trigger irrigation. The results showed that the microsprinkler irrigation created an appropriate environment for festuca growth through the three stages of water and salt regulation. The low-salinity conditions that occurred at 0–10 cm depth during the first stage（-5 k Pa） continued to expand through the next two stages. The average p H value was less than 8.5. The tiller number of festuca increased as SMP decreased from the first stage to the third stage. After the three stages of water and salt regulation, the highly saline soil gradually changed to a low-saline soil. Overall, based on the salt desalinization, the microsprinkler irrigation and three stages of water and salt regulation could be successfully used to cultivate plants for the reclamation of coastal saline land in North China.

Effects of soil salinity on rhizosphere soil microbes in transgenic Bt cotton fields

With increased cultivation of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt） cotton in the saline alkaline soil of China, assessments of transgenic crop biosafety have focused on the effects of soil salinity on rhizosphere microbes and Bt protein residues. In 2013 and 2014, investigations were conducted on the rhizosphere microbial biomass, soil enzyme activities and Bt protein contents of the soil under transgenic Bt cotton （variety GK19） and its parental non-transgenic cotton （Simian 3） cultivated at various salinity levels （1.15, 6.00 and 11.46 dS m-1）. Under soil salinity stress, trace amounts of Bt proteins were ob- served in the Bt cotton GK19 rhizosphere soil, although the protein content increased with cotton growth and increased soil salinity levels. The populations of slight halophilic bacteria, phosphate solubilizing bacteria, ammonifying bacteria, nitrifying bacteria and denitrifying bacteria decreased with increased soil salinity in the Bt and non-Bt cotton rhizosphere soil, and the microbial biomass carbon, microbial respiration and soil catalase, urease and alkaline phosphatase activity also decreased. Correlation analyses showed that the increased Bt protein content in the Bt cotton rhizosphere soil may have been caused by the slower decomposition of soil microorganisms, which suggests that salinity was the main factor influencing the relevant activities of the soil microorganisms and indicates that Bt proteins had no clear adverse effects on the soil microorganisms. The results of this study may provide a theoretical basis for risk assessments of genetically modified cotton in saline alkaline soil.

Influence of the roots of mixed-planting species on the shear strength of saline loess soil

In order to improve our knowledge of the mechanical effect of the roots of mixed-plantings on soil reinforcement and slope protection,the influence of roots of a mixed-planting with four herb species(Medicago sativa L.,Elymus nutans Griseb.,Puccinellia distanx(L.),and Poa pratensis L.)and one shrub species(Caragana korshinskii Kom.)were investigated on the shear strength characteristics of saline loess soil.The root distribution characteristics were assessed via a survey when the plants grew for one year.The effects of the root biomass density,the root mass ratio(RMR)of the fine roots to the coarse roots,the moisture content,and the salt content on the shear strength index of the rooted soil were analyzed via a triaxial compression test,and the mechanism of these effects was discussed.The results indicate that the biomass density decreased linearly with increasing depth.The RMR initially decreased with depth and then increased,exhibiting in a quadratic relationship.The cohesion of the rooted soil increased linearly as the biomass density increased.The cohesion of the rooted soil initially increased with increasing RMR and salt content,and then it decreased.The turning point of the cohesion occurred when the RMR was 0.6 and the salt content was 1.18%.The internal friction angle of the rooted soil initially increased with biomass density and then decreased,and the turning point of the internal friction angle occurred when the biomass density was 0.015 g/cm3.The relationships between the internal friction angle of the rooted soil and the RMR and salt content were exponential incremental and linear subtractive relationship,respectively.Both the cohesion and the internal friction angle of the rooted soil linearly decreased with increasing moisture content.

Spatio-temporal variations of soil water content and salinity around individual Tamarix ramosissima in a semi-arid saline region of the upper Yellow River, Northwest China

Ecological restoration by Taman＇x plants on semi-arid saline lands affects the accumulation, distribution patterns and related mechanisms of soil water content and salinity. In this study, spatio-temporal variations of soil water content and salinity around natural individual Tamarix ramosissiraa Ledeb. were invetigated in a semi-arid saline region of the upper Yellow River, Northwest China. Specifically, soil water content, electrical conductivity （EC）, sodium adsorption ratio （SARa）, and salt ions （including Na＋, K＋, Ca2＋, Mg2＋ and 8042-） were measured at different soil depths and at different distances from the trunk of T. ramasissima in May, July, and September 2016. The soil water content at the 20-80 cm depth was significantly lower in July and September than in May, indicating that T. ramosissima plants absorb a large amount of water through the roots during the growing period, leading to the decreasing of soil water content in the deep soil layer. At the 0-20 cm depth, there was a salt island effect around individual T. ramosissima, and the ECe differed significantly inside and outside the canopy of T. ramosissima in May and July. Salt bioaccumulation and stemflow were two major contributing factors to this difference. The SAR at the 0-20 cm depth was significantly different inside and outside the canopy of T. ramosissima in the three sampling months. The values of SAR~ at the 60-80 cm depth in May and July were significantly higher than those at the 0-60 cm depth and higher than that at the corresponding depth in September. The distribution of Na＋ in the soil was similar to that of the SAI, while the concentrations of K＋, Ca2＋, and Mg2＋ showed significant differences among the sampling months and soil depths. Both season and soil depth had highly significant effects on soil water content, ECe and SARa, whereas distance from the trunk of T. ramosissima only significantly affected ECe. Based on these results, we recommend co-planting of shallow-rooted salt-tolerant species near the Tamarx plants and avoiding planting herbaceous plants inside the canopy of T. ramodssima for afforestation in this semi-arid saline region. The results of this study may provide a reference for appropriate restoration in the semi-arid saline regions of the upper Yellow River.