Application Research of Water-saving and Drought-resistant Landscape Plants:A Case Study of Inner Mongolia Drought-resistant Mongolian Grasses

Construction of "water-saving landscape architecture" is a crucial content of building "conservation-minded society'',an important approach of ensuring the sustainable development of landscaping industry.It targets at exploring a reasonable means of using the nature,so as to improve ecological conditions and environment,save resources and energies,and promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.Landscape plant is a significant component of landscape architecture,it is a key section to choose proper drought-resistant plant species for the landscape construction.

Analysis of nutrient content and assessment of economic value for major salt-tolerant plants in coastal areas:a case study of Dongying City, Shandong Province

Salinization of soil is a worldwide problem concerning resources and ecology,especially serious in coastal areas.Testing of 26 sorts of data or parameters are carried out on leaves of 22 plant species(in 24 plant variety) of existing main salt-tolerant plant of the Yellow River Delta region.Data or parameters include the following ele-ments:contents of K+,Na+,Ca2+,Mg2+ and Cl-,contents of protein,fat,total energy,ash and contents of 17 amino acids.The results show that these tested plants have economic values.For example,according to their uses,they can be divided into edible plants,forage plants,medicine or health plants,and some of them can be used for multipurposes.These plants have played important roles in the sustainable utilization of plant resources in coastal areas.This paper has taken evaluations on the economic uses of salt-tolerant plants and given suggestions for saline soil improvement and resource utilization in coastal areas.Based on the results of investigation and experiments,we suppose that the salt-tolerant plants in coastal areas can be grouped into 9 main groups according to their economic value:pioneer plants for saline land improvement,medicine,edible and forage plants,industry material,forestation,breeding material,energy plants and eco-tourism resources.

Chemical Composition and Ruminal Digestibility of Ceratoides, a Salt-tolerant Perennial Plant,at Different Years

It has been proposed that salt-tolerant plant could be used as a feed resource for ruminants whereby salt would be removed from salinized land (Asian -Aust. J. Anim. Sci. (2002) 15:998 -1001). Ceratoides arborescens (Losinsk.) Tsien et C. G. Ma is known as a drought-and salt-tolerant plant,a kind of shrubs, growing in semi-arid land of Inner Mongolia. Because the covering effect of the perennial plant as a mulch over the soil might be expected, the optimum covering effect would be obtained after the growth period.The perennial plant produces seeds around summer and end its growth thereafter. Nutrient value of the perennial salt-tolerant plant, however,had not been reported in flowering period at different year. It is necessary to know the ruminal degradability of the plants of each growing year in order to determine the regimen to diet for ruminants. The present experiment,therefore,was undertaken to analyze the digestibility and chemical composition of Ceratoides arborescens as feed for ruminants.

Application of stable isotope techniques to the study of soil salinization

In this paper,we reviewed the progress in the application of stable isotope techniques to the study of soil salinization.As a powerful technique,stable isotopes have been widely used in the studies of soil water evaporation,the dynamics of soil salinization and salt-tolerant plant breeding.The impact of single environmental factors on plant isotope composition has been the focus of previous studies.However,the impact of multiple environmental factors on plant isotope composition remains unclear and needs to be carefully studied.In order to gain insights into soil salinization and amelioration,especially soil salinization in arid and semiarid areas,it is essential to employ stable isotope techniques and combine them with other methods,such as located field observation and remote sensing technology.

Creation of an Agricultural Security System: An Effective Model of Sustainable Land Use

The article discusses the effective use of degraded foothill lands of the Kamashy district of the Kashkadarya region of Uzbekistan. Sustainable land use in the arid lands of the foothill zone, due to water conservation, growing seedlings of nut and fruit trees, growing fodder crops in row spacing, allows local livestock breeders to create a rational model of agroforestry system of land use. The organization and development of agroforestry will ensure sustainable land use, create additional jobs, increase household incomes and improve the standard of living of the population.

Soil Salinity Changes Under Cropping with Lycium barbarum L.and Irrigation with Saline-Sodic Water

In order to utilize the wasted saline-sodic soils under shallow groundwater condition, a 3-year field study was carried in a field cropped with Lycium barbarum L. and irrigated by drip irrigation with saline groundwater under the water table depth of 30-40 cm in the northern Yinchuan Plain, China. Effects of cropping duration （one, two, and three years） on soil salinity, soil solution composition, and pH in three adjacent plots were investigated in 2008. Results showed that a high irrigation frequency maintained high soil water potential and subsequently facilitated infiltration and downward movement of water and salt in the crop root zone. Salt accumulated on the edges of the ridges, and soil saturated-paste electrical conductivity （ECe） was higher in the edge. Concentrations of Na^＋, Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, Cl^-, and SO24^- in the soil increased with the soil depth as did the ECe, while HCO3 and pH had a relative uniform distribution in soil profile. As planting year increased, the ECe and soil salts in the field had a decreasing tendency, while in the root zone they decreased immediately after irrigation and then remained relatively stable in the following growing seasons. HCO3 and pH had little change with the planting year. Results suggested that the application of drip irrigation with saline water could ameliorate saline-sodic soil and provide a relatively feasible soil environment for saline-sodic soils with shallow groundwater.

Tillage and crop management impacts on soil loss and crop yields in northwestern Ethiopia

Lack of appropriate agronomic practices is one of the major causes for soil erosion and low yields in teff(Eragrostis tef[Zucc.])production in Ethiopia.A 3-yr study was conducted at the Aba Gerima watershed in northwestern Ethiopia,to investigate the effects of two tillage practices(reduced tillage[RT]and conventional tillage[CT]),two planting methods(row planting[RP]and broadcast planting[BP]),and two compaction options(with[+T]and without[-T]trampling)on soil loss and teff yields in a split-split plot arrangement.Sediment concentration ranged from 0.01 to 5.37 g L^(-1)(mean,0.25 g L^(-1))in our study.Accordingly,the estimated total(August-October)soil loss ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 t ha^(-1)(mean,0.3 t ha^(-1)).The sediment concentration and total soil loss were significantly influenced(P<0.05)by tillage,planting methods,and trampling only in the third monitoring year.RT reduced soil loss by 19% relative to that of CT,whereas RP resulted in a 13%reduction in soil loss over BP.The-T plots showed a 15%reduction in soil loss as compared to+T plots.Results revealed significant increase in soil total carbon and nitrogen in RT and-T.Less soil loss and greater teff grain yield were obtained in plots with improved agronomic practices(RT and RP)compared to conventional ones(CT and BP).Based on our findings we conclude that the use of RT,RP,and-T practices can effectively minimize soil loss without any crop yield penalty.