Effects of Biochar Application on Soil Organic Carbon in Degraded Saline-sodic Wetlands of Songnen Plain,Northeast China

Biochar amendment is considered as an efficient practice for improving carbon storage in soils.However,to what extent that biochar application promotes organic carbon in saline-sodic soils remains poorly understood.By comparing soil organic carbon(SOC)contents change before and after biochar addition,we deciphered the driving factors or processes that control SOC change in response to biochar application.A limited increase in SOC was observed,about by 1.16%-12.80%,even when biochar was applied at the rate of 10%of bulk soil weight.Biochar application enhanced soil dissolved organic carbon(DOC)significantly by up to 67%.It was estimated that about 50%SOC was allocated to small macroaggregates(250-2000μm,CPOC),and SOC in silt and clay-sized particles(<53μm)decreased obviously after biochar addition.Microbial biomass increased with biochar amendment,of which actinomycetes(ACT),fungus(FUN),protozoon(PRO),and bacteria with straight-chain saturated fatty acids(OB)increased remarkably.Multiple linear regression models implied that DOC was governed by ACT and soil N∶P ratio,while SOC mostly depended on CPOC.The principal component analysis and the partial least square path model(PLS-PM)indicated that biochar addition aggravated nitrogen limitation in saline-sodic soils,and effects of microorganisms on regulating SOC greatly depended on nitrogen bioavailability.Biochar application had vastly changed interactions between environmental factors and SOC in saline-sodic soils.Effects of nutrients on SOC shifted to great inhibition from strong stimulation after biochar addition,meanwhile,aggregation was the only factor presenting positive effects on SOC.How to eliminate nutrient limitation and better soil aggregation process should be considered in priority when biochar was used to improve SOC in saline-sodic soils.

GROUND WATER QUALITY IN THE INDUS PLAINS OF PAKISTAN AND ITS USE FOR CROP PRODUCTION DURING RECLAMATION OF SALINE-SODIC SOILS

The Indus Plains of Pakistan lies between 23°to 37°latitude and 61°to 76°longi-tude in the northern hemisphere. The total Canal Commanded Area (CCA) is about 13.50million hectares of which 11.21 million hectares are cultivated. At present, 103 millionacre-feet river flow is diverted into irrigation canals. In addition, 42 million acre feet of thegroundwater are being pumped through 257697 tubewells to supplement the canal supplies.

A Practical Model for Desodification of Saline-Sodic Soils of Central Khuzestan Plains, Khuzestan Province

The most important task in leaching practices is assessment of water quantity required for leaching of saline and saline-sodic soils. Therefore, reliable estimation of the required leaching water quantity is vital for reducing soil salinity to a desirable level. The present study aimed to investigate desodification of saline and sodic soils in central area of Khuzestan Province. Consequently, a large area of 3216 ha with S4A3 salinity/sodicity class in Khuzestan, Iran, was selected to obtain the required data. This experiment was conducted with two treatments and tree replicates. In the first treatment, the experiment was conducted by applying just 100 cm water depth in four 25 cm intervals. In the second treatment, 5000 kg/ha Sulfuric Acid was applied prior to salt leaching together with leaching water. The intermittent ponding method was conducted with double rings in a rectangular array. The required physical and chemical analyses were performed on the collected data. The leaching water was supplied from Shotait River. Four mathematical models were applied to the collected experimental data to derive a suitable empirical model. The results for large scale applications indicated that the proposed logarithmic model can estimate the capital leaching requirement much than the previously proposed models.

Long-term cattle manure application to saline-sodic soil increases maize yield by decreasing key obstacle factors in the black soil region of Northeastern China

Poor soil physical properties, serious salinization and low soil nutrients are the limiting factors for crop yield in saline-sodic soil. Long-term cattle manure application is an important measure that can affect the physicochemical properties and increase the maize yield of saline-sodic soil. This experiment included five treatments according to the history of cattle manure application: a control treatment with no cattle manure (CK) and treatments with cattle manure application for 14 years (14 a), 17 years (17 a), 20 years (20 a), and 25 years (25 a). The results indicated that compared with the CK treatment, long-term cattle manure application to saline-sodic soil resulted in significant increases in soil organic matter (SOM), soil total nitrogen (TN) and available nutrients at the 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm depths (p<0.05). The soil physical properties improved significantly, and cattle manure application significantly decreased the soil bulk density (ρb) and soil density (ρd) and increased the soil total porosity (ft) and water-holding capacity (WHC). With the number of years of cattle manure application, the soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR1:5) decreased significantly, and the maize yield gradually increased over time from 8690 kg/hm2 in the CK treatment to 14 690 kg/hm2 in the 25a treatment. There were significant differences among all treatments (p<0.05). The results showed that long-term cattle manure application decreased the soil ρb and saline-alkaline properties, which was the main factor that affected the maize yield in the saline-sodic soil, especially for soil ρb.

Identification of Arbuscular mycorrhizal multiplicity in the saline-sodic soils

This study focused on the Arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM)fungal diversity in the saline-sodic soils based on native spore density and most probable number(MPN)assay.Identification through spore morphology showed existence of five genera in the various crop rhizospheres.The physico-chemical analysis of the native soils revealed that they were saline-sodic with pH ranging from(8.7±0.5)to(9.5±0.6)and habituated five different genera of AM fungi including Glomus,Scutellospora,Acaulospora,Sclerocystis and Gigaspora.Each location revealed presence of varied species of AM fungus namely Acaulospora and Glomus in rhizosphere of maize;Scutellospora and Glomus in tulsi;four isolates of Glomus in onion;Glomus and Sclerocystis in guava;three isolates of Glomus in rice;Glomus in neem and Gigaspora and Glomus in bamboo.The molecular identification through nested PCR analysis showed amplification of 600 bp size in SSU rDNA gene in samples A and C(predominated by Acaulospora and Glomus mosseae respectively).

Heavy metal pollution risk of desulfurized steel slag as a soil amendment in cycling use of solid wastes

The by-product of wet flue gas desulfurization,desulfurized steel slag(DS),had chemical characteristics like natural gypsum that can be used to improve saline-sodic soil.However,contamination risk of heavy metals for cycling utilization of DS in agriculturewas concerned mostly.Both pot and field experiments were conducted for evaluating the potential pollution risk of DS as the amendment of saline-sodic soil.Results showed that application of DS decreased the contents of Cd,Cu,Zn,and Pb,while significantly increasing chromium(Cr)content in DS-amended soils.The field experiment demonstrated that the migration of heavy metals(Cd,Zn,Cu,and Pb)in the soil profile was negligible.The application of DS at the dosage of 22.5–225 tons/ha significantly increased the Cr content in alfalfa(Medicago sativa L.)but lower than the national standard for feed in China(GB 13078-2017).DS altered the chemical fraction of heavy metals(Zn,Cu,and Pb),transferred exchangeable,reducible into oxidizable and residual forms in DS-amended soil.Application of DS combined with fulvic acid(FA)could effectively reduce the movement of heavy metals in soil and the accumulation of Cr in alfalfa.Based on our results,DS was a safe and feasible material for agricultural use and presented relatively little pollution risk of heavy metals.However,the results also showed that DS to a certain extent had a potential environmental risk of Cr if larger dosages of DS were used.