One of the ways of overcoming the cost of irrigation is through in-situ water harvesting at the plant roots. Super absorbent polymer (SAP) can facilitate water harvesting at the plant roots. This study attempted to as...One of the ways of overcoming the cost of irrigation is through in-situ water harvesting at the plant roots. Super absorbent polymer (SAP) can facilitate water harvesting at the plant roots. This study attempted to assess the effect of SAP on plant available water (PAW) of different soils. In this study, SAP was sequentially added at the rate of 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.5% of the soil weight and its impact assessed in clay, sandy clay and sandy loam soils. The moisture retention characteristics of the original and SAP treated soils were studied using soil water retention curves (SWRC) and results modelled using Gardner model. PAW was estimated from SWRC as the difference between moisture content at 1.5 and 3 bar in all soils. The difference in PAW between original and treated soils was assessed at 5% level of significance. The WRC of all the samples was adequately found to be described by the Gardner model (Coefficient of determination R<sup>2</sup> ≥ 98% and residual standard error (RSE) ≤ 0.04). SWRC changed with increase in SAP percentage in clay, sandy clay and sandy loam soils. Clay had a higher change in water retention then sandy clay and lastly sandy loam. Plant available water content (PAW) in all soils increased. In clay soil it increased with increase in SAP from 0.3291 at zero SAP to 0.6223 at 0.5% SAP. Sandy clay soil increased in PAW from 0.2721 at zero SAP to 0.5335 at 0.5% SAP and Sandy loam soils from 0.1691 at zero SAP to 0.3461 at 0.5% SAP. Hence, from the study SAP can be used to conserve irrigation water in the plant roots and therefore reducing the cost since PAW has been increased.展开更多
Soil water deficit is increasingly threatening the sustainable vegetation restoration and ecological construction on the Loess Plateau of China due to the climate warming and human activities.To determine the response...Soil water deficit is increasingly threatening the sustainable vegetation restoration and ecological construction on the Loess Plateau of China due to the climate warming and human activities.To determine the response thresholds of Amygdalus pedunculata(AP)and Salix psammophila(SP)to soil water availability under different textural soils,we measured the changes in net photosynthetic rate(Pn),stomatal conductance(Gs),intercellular CO2 concentration(Ci),leaf water potential(ψw),water use efficiency(WUE)and daily transpiration rate(Td)of the two plant species during soil water content(SWC)decreased from 100%field capacity(FC)to 20%FC in the sandy and loamy soils on the Loess Plateau in the growing season from June to August in 2018.Results showed that Pn,Gs,WUE and Td of AP and SP remained relatively constant at the beginning of soil water deficit but decreased rapidly as plant available soil water content(PASWC)fell below the threshold values in both the sandy and loamy soils.The PASWC thresholds corresponding to Pn,Gs and Ci of AP in the loamy soil(0.61,0.62 and 0.70,respectively)were lower than those in the sandy soil(0.70,0.63 and 0.75,respectively),whereas the PASWC thresholds corresponding to Pn,Gs and Ci of SP in the loamy soil(0.63,0.68 and 0.78,respectively)were higher than those in the sandy soil(0.58,0.62 and 0.66,respectively).In addition,the PASWC thresholds in relation to Td and WUE of AP(0.60 and 0.58,respectively)and SP(0.62 and 0.60,respectively)in the loamy soil were higher than the corresponding PASWC thresholds of AP(0.58 and 0.52,respectively)and SP(0.55 and 0.56,respectively)in the sandy soil.Furthermore,the PASWC thresholds for the instantaneous gas exchange parameters(e.g.,Pn and Gs)at the transient scale were higher than the thresholds for the parameters(e.g.,Td)at the daily scale.Our study demonstrates that different plant species and/or different physiological parameters exhibit different thresholds of PASWC and that the thresholds are affected by soil texture.The result can provide guidance for the rational allocation and sustainable management of reforestation species under different soil conditions in the loess regions.展开更多
The soil potentials, facing to the crop fields, are commonly estimated through the calculation of their available water capacity based on the ETP or ETM estimation. The present work introduces the comparison between t...The soil potentials, facing to the crop fields, are commonly estimated through the calculation of their available water capacity based on the ETP or ETM estimation. The present work introduces the comparison between theoretical and real available water capacity profiles calculated down to 1.00 m depth. The evapotranspiration data are used to the calculation of ETP in an undrained grassland and ETM in two drained corn fields located in the French Atlantic marshlands. The studied soils have acquired specific properties in response to the reclaiming of the clay;dominant primary sediments began since the Middle Age and late drainage works. The theoretical and real available water capacity profiles are calculated from the ETP and ETM data and from the soil moisture profiles respectively, from June to October 2013. The theoretical and real profiles are confronted to the tensiometric pressure recording at 30, 60 and 90 cm. The tensiometric pressure behavior and associated premature disconnections of the tensiometric plugs are explained thanks to the soil structure-hydromechanical property relationships: i.e. from ductile state in depth to brittle state in surface. The vertical evolutions of the real profiles are explained facing to the plant growing, pluviometry and water nape levels. Their behavior and their shifts from the linear “theoretical” ETP or ETM profiles clearly show the advance of the desiccation front and consequently the kinetics of water consumption by plants. This simple method of calculation and comparison between the real and theoretical ETM or ETP profiles allows the quantitative discussion: 1) on the role of the soil microstructure behavior on the root growing and, 2) on the realism of the crop coefficient taken into account in the ETP or ETM estimation. In these coastal marsh fields, it also argues on the difficulty of management facing to the water and/or salt stresses.展开更多
In the past few decades, the increase in grazing intensity has led to soil degradation and desertification in Inner Mongolia grassland, China, due to population growth and shift in the socio-economic system. Two sites...In the past few decades, the increase in grazing intensity has led to soil degradation and desertification in Inner Mongolia grassland, China, due to population growth and shift in the socio-economic system. Two sites with different grazing intensities, continuous grazing site （CG） with 1.2 sheep ha-1 year-1 and heavy grazing site （HG） with 2.0 sheep ha-1 year-1, were investigated at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station （43° 37′ 50″ N, 116° 42′ 18″ E） situated in the northern China to i） characterize the temporal distribution of soil water content along soil profile; and ii） quantify the water fluxes as affected by grazing intensity. Soil water content was monitored by time domain refiectometry （TDR） probes. Soil water retention curves were determined by pressure membrane extractor, furthermore processed by RETC （RETention Curve） software. Soil matric potential, plant available water and water flux were calculated using these data. Both sites showed an identical seasonal soil water dynamics within four defined hydraulic periods： i） wetting transition coincided with a dramatic water increase due to snow and frozen soil thawing from March to April; 2） wet summer, rainfall in accordance with plant growth from May to September; 3） drying transition, a decrease of soil water from October to November due to rainfall limit; and 4） dry winter, freezing from December to next February. Heavy grazing largely reduced soil water content by 43%-48% and plant available water by 46%-61% as compared to the CG site. During growing season net water flux was nearly similar between HG （242 mm） and CG （223 mm） sites between 5 and 20 cm depths. However, between 20 and 40 cm depths, the upward flux was more pronounced at HG site than at CG site, indicating that water was depleted by root uptake at HG site but stored at CG site. In semi-arid grassland ecosystem, grazing intensity can affect soil water regime and flux, particularly in the growing season.展开更多
Knowledge of plant responses to soil water availability is essential for the development of effcient irrigation strategies.However,notably different results have been obtained in the past on the responses of various p...Knowledge of plant responses to soil water availability is essential for the development of effcient irrigation strategies.However,notably different results have been obtained in the past on the responses of various physiological indices for different plants to soil water availability.In this study,the responses of various plant processes to soil water availability were compared with data from pot and field plot experiments conducted on maize(Zea mays L.).Consistent results were obtained between pot and field plot experiments for the responses of various relative plant indices to changes in the fraction of available soil water(FASW).A threshold value,where the relative plant indices began to decrease with soil drying,and a lower water limit,where the decline of relative plant indices changed to a very slow rate,were found.Evaporative demand not only influenced the transpiration rate over a daily scale but also determined the difference in transpirational response to soil water availability among the transient,daily and seasonal time scales.At the seasonal scale,cumulative transpiration decreased linearly with soil drying,but the decrease of transpiration from FASW = 1 in response to water deficits did not affect dry weight until FASW = 0.75.On the other hand,the decrease in dry weight was comparable with plant height and leaf area.Therefore,the plant responses to soil water availability were notably different among various plant indices of maize and were influenced by the weather conditions.展开更多
Whether biochar produced as a by-product of energy generation from the papermill industry,and often disposed in landfills,can be gainfully applied to commercial croplands has not been investigated.The objective of thi...Whether biochar produced as a by-product of energy generation from the papermill industry,and often disposed in landfills,can be gainfully applied to commercial croplands has not been investigated.The objective of this study was to investigate the physical and hydraulic properties of soils in commercial cotton fields managed as no-till systems following repeated applications of biochar generated as a waste of a papermill plant.Undisturbed cores and disturbed soil samples were collected from 0-5 and 5-10 cm layers from five commercial no-till fields in Mississippi,USA that received 6.7 Mg ha^(−1) year^(−1) biochar for 0,2,3,5 or 10 years.A number of physical,hydraulic,and chemical properties of these samples were measured in the lab.The results showed that biochar reduced the degree of soil compactness and increased soil aggregation and structural stability index.The findings were particularly apparent for the 10 years of consecutive application,which increased soil aggregate stability by up to 67%,reduced bulk density from 1.40 to 1.26 g cm^(−3),and reduced degree of compactness from 73.2%to 62.8%.Biochar increased soil porosity but much of this increase(55%)occurred for small pores(<0.5μm)with little effect on storage pores(0.5-50μm)or transmission pores(>50μm).Consequently,biochar increased soil field capacity by up to 26%,but PAW increased by only 17%.Biochar significantly increased soil physical quality index score in the 0-5 cm layer from 0.16 to 0.26 and the increase was positively correlated with the number of years of application.The results suggest biochar generated as a byproduct of papermill could be land-applied in real-world crop production systems to improve soil health as an alternative to disposal in landfills.展开更多
文摘One of the ways of overcoming the cost of irrigation is through in-situ water harvesting at the plant roots. Super absorbent polymer (SAP) can facilitate water harvesting at the plant roots. This study attempted to assess the effect of SAP on plant available water (PAW) of different soils. In this study, SAP was sequentially added at the rate of 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.5% of the soil weight and its impact assessed in clay, sandy clay and sandy loam soils. The moisture retention characteristics of the original and SAP treated soils were studied using soil water retention curves (SWRC) and results modelled using Gardner model. PAW was estimated from SWRC as the difference between moisture content at 1.5 and 3 bar in all soils. The difference in PAW between original and treated soils was assessed at 5% level of significance. The WRC of all the samples was adequately found to be described by the Gardner model (Coefficient of determination R<sup>2</sup> ≥ 98% and residual standard error (RSE) ≤ 0.04). SWRC changed with increase in SAP percentage in clay, sandy clay and sandy loam soils. Clay had a higher change in water retention then sandy clay and lastly sandy loam. Plant available water content (PAW) in all soils increased. In clay soil it increased with increase in SAP from 0.3291 at zero SAP to 0.6223 at 0.5% SAP. Sandy clay soil increased in PAW from 0.2721 at zero SAP to 0.5335 at 0.5% SAP and Sandy loam soils from 0.1691 at zero SAP to 0.3461 at 0.5% SAP. Hence, from the study SAP can be used to conserve irrigation water in the plant roots and therefore reducing the cost since PAW has been increased.
基金This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41601221)the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2016YFC0501605)+2 种基金the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(2019052)the Bingwei Outstanding Young Talent Project from the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences(2017RC203)the Scientific Research Program from the State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau,Institute of Soil and Water Conservation,Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources(A314021402-2010)。
文摘Soil water deficit is increasingly threatening the sustainable vegetation restoration and ecological construction on the Loess Plateau of China due to the climate warming and human activities.To determine the response thresholds of Amygdalus pedunculata(AP)and Salix psammophila(SP)to soil water availability under different textural soils,we measured the changes in net photosynthetic rate(Pn),stomatal conductance(Gs),intercellular CO2 concentration(Ci),leaf water potential(ψw),water use efficiency(WUE)and daily transpiration rate(Td)of the two plant species during soil water content(SWC)decreased from 100%field capacity(FC)to 20%FC in the sandy and loamy soils on the Loess Plateau in the growing season from June to August in 2018.Results showed that Pn,Gs,WUE and Td of AP and SP remained relatively constant at the beginning of soil water deficit but decreased rapidly as plant available soil water content(PASWC)fell below the threshold values in both the sandy and loamy soils.The PASWC thresholds corresponding to Pn,Gs and Ci of AP in the loamy soil(0.61,0.62 and 0.70,respectively)were lower than those in the sandy soil(0.70,0.63 and 0.75,respectively),whereas the PASWC thresholds corresponding to Pn,Gs and Ci of SP in the loamy soil(0.63,0.68 and 0.78,respectively)were higher than those in the sandy soil(0.58,0.62 and 0.66,respectively).In addition,the PASWC thresholds in relation to Td and WUE of AP(0.60 and 0.58,respectively)and SP(0.62 and 0.60,respectively)in the loamy soil were higher than the corresponding PASWC thresholds of AP(0.58 and 0.52,respectively)and SP(0.55 and 0.56,respectively)in the sandy soil.Furthermore,the PASWC thresholds for the instantaneous gas exchange parameters(e.g.,Pn and Gs)at the transient scale were higher than the thresholds for the parameters(e.g.,Td)at the daily scale.Our study demonstrates that different plant species and/or different physiological parameters exhibit different thresholds of PASWC and that the thresholds are affected by soil texture.The result can provide guidance for the rational allocation and sustainable management of reforestation species under different soil conditions in the loess regions.
文摘The soil potentials, facing to the crop fields, are commonly estimated through the calculation of their available water capacity based on the ETP or ETM estimation. The present work introduces the comparison between theoretical and real available water capacity profiles calculated down to 1.00 m depth. The evapotranspiration data are used to the calculation of ETP in an undrained grassland and ETM in two drained corn fields located in the French Atlantic marshlands. The studied soils have acquired specific properties in response to the reclaiming of the clay;dominant primary sediments began since the Middle Age and late drainage works. The theoretical and real available water capacity profiles are calculated from the ETP and ETM data and from the soil moisture profiles respectively, from June to October 2013. The theoretical and real profiles are confronted to the tensiometric pressure recording at 30, 60 and 90 cm. The tensiometric pressure behavior and associated premature disconnections of the tensiometric plugs are explained thanks to the soil structure-hydromechanical property relationships: i.e. from ductile state in depth to brittle state in surface. The vertical evolutions of the real profiles are explained facing to the plant growing, pluviometry and water nape levels. Their behavior and their shifts from the linear “theoretical” ETP or ETM profiles clearly show the advance of the desiccation front and consequently the kinetics of water consumption by plants. This simple method of calculation and comparison between the real and theoretical ETM or ETP profiles allows the quantitative discussion: 1) on the role of the soil microstructure behavior on the root growing and, 2) on the realism of the crop coefficient taken into account in the ETP or ETM estimation. In these coastal marsh fields, it also argues on the difficulty of management facing to the water and/or salt stresses.
基金Supported by the German Research Foundation(DFG)(No.Forschergruppe 536)the Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘In the past few decades, the increase in grazing intensity has led to soil degradation and desertification in Inner Mongolia grassland, China, due to population growth and shift in the socio-economic system. Two sites with different grazing intensities, continuous grazing site （CG） with 1.2 sheep ha-1 year-1 and heavy grazing site （HG） with 2.0 sheep ha-1 year-1, were investigated at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station （43° 37′ 50″ N, 116° 42′ 18″ E） situated in the northern China to i） characterize the temporal distribution of soil water content along soil profile; and ii） quantify the water fluxes as affected by grazing intensity. Soil water content was monitored by time domain refiectometry （TDR） probes. Soil water retention curves were determined by pressure membrane extractor, furthermore processed by RETC （RETention Curve） software. Soil matric potential, plant available water and water flux were calculated using these data. Both sites showed an identical seasonal soil water dynamics within four defined hydraulic periods： i） wetting transition coincided with a dramatic water increase due to snow and frozen soil thawing from March to April; 2） wet summer, rainfall in accordance with plant growth from May to September; 3） drying transition, a decrease of soil water from October to November due to rainfall limit; and 4） dry winter, freezing from December to next February. Heavy grazing largely reduced soil water content by 43%-48% and plant available water by 46%-61% as compared to the CG site. During growing season net water flux was nearly similar between HG （242 mm） and CG （223 mm） sites between 5 and 20 cm depths. However, between 20 and 40 cm depths, the upward flux was more pronounced at HG site than at CG site, indicating that water was depleted by root uptake at HG site but stored at CG site. In semi-arid grassland ecosystem, grazing intensity can affect soil water regime and flux, particularly in the growing season.
基金Supported by the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teamsthe Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.KSCX1-YW-09-07)the National Natural Science Foundationof China (No.40671083)
文摘Knowledge of plant responses to soil water availability is essential for the development of effcient irrigation strategies.However,notably different results have been obtained in the past on the responses of various physiological indices for different plants to soil water availability.In this study,the responses of various plant processes to soil water availability were compared with data from pot and field plot experiments conducted on maize(Zea mays L.).Consistent results were obtained between pot and field plot experiments for the responses of various relative plant indices to changes in the fraction of available soil water(FASW).A threshold value,where the relative plant indices began to decrease with soil drying,and a lower water limit,where the decline of relative plant indices changed to a very slow rate,were found.Evaporative demand not only influenced the transpiration rate over a daily scale but also determined the difference in transpirational response to soil water availability among the transient,daily and seasonal time scales.At the seasonal scale,cumulative transpiration decreased linearly with soil drying,but the decrease of transpiration from FASW = 1 in response to water deficits did not affect dry weight until FASW = 0.75.On the other hand,the decrease in dry weight was comparable with plant height and leaf area.Therefore,the plant responses to soil water availability were notably different among various plant indices of maize and were influenced by the weather conditions.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42207381)China Scholarship Council(No.201806350218).
文摘Whether biochar produced as a by-product of energy generation from the papermill industry,and often disposed in landfills,can be gainfully applied to commercial croplands has not been investigated.The objective of this study was to investigate the physical and hydraulic properties of soils in commercial cotton fields managed as no-till systems following repeated applications of biochar generated as a waste of a papermill plant.Undisturbed cores and disturbed soil samples were collected from 0-5 and 5-10 cm layers from five commercial no-till fields in Mississippi,USA that received 6.7 Mg ha^(−1) year^(−1) biochar for 0,2,3,5 or 10 years.A number of physical,hydraulic,and chemical properties of these samples were measured in the lab.The results showed that biochar reduced the degree of soil compactness and increased soil aggregation and structural stability index.The findings were particularly apparent for the 10 years of consecutive application,which increased soil aggregate stability by up to 67%,reduced bulk density from 1.40 to 1.26 g cm^(−3),and reduced degree of compactness from 73.2%to 62.8%.Biochar increased soil porosity but much of this increase(55%)occurred for small pores(<0.5μm)with little effect on storage pores(0.5-50μm)or transmission pores(>50μm).Consequently,biochar increased soil field capacity by up to 26%,but PAW increased by only 17%.Biochar significantly increased soil physical quality index score in the 0-5 cm layer from 0.16 to 0.26 and the increase was positively correlated with the number of years of application.The results suggest biochar generated as a byproduct of papermill could be land-applied in real-world crop production systems to improve soil health as an alternative to disposal in landfills.
