Effects of Living Grass Mulch on Soil Properties and Assessment of Soil Quality in Chinese Apple Orchards: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Soil degradation has exacerbated the gap between crop yield and increasing food demands, and unreasonable field management is one of the main reasons for soil degradation. As a classic orchard soil management mode, living grass mulch can effectively change the hydrothermal environment and soil physicochemical properties of the ‘soil–vegetation–atmosphere’ microclimate of apple orchards. However, these improvement effects are mainly affected by climatic conditions, mulch methods, vegetation varieties and continuous grass-growing years. To evaluate the different effects of living grass mulch and the main influencing factors on soil physicochemical properties of apple orchards in China, in this study, we conducted a meta-analysis using data from 53 peer-reviewed publications to carry out soil quality assessment. The results showed that compared with clear tillage, continuous living grass mulch in apple orchards could improve soil function and performance by about 56% and increase soil enzyme activities by 10–120%, on average, whereas the soil organic matter under the effect of artificial grass and natural grass significantly increased by 29.6% and 14.6%, respectively. Artificial grass in temperate and warm, temperate, semi-humid climate regions had a greater overall improvement effect on the soil physicochemical environment than natural grass. Clover was found to be the most suitable for planting in apple orchards in temperate, semi-humid climate regions, whereas both clover and ryegrass were the best choices in warm, temperate, semi-humid climate regions. The interaction effects of different soil physicochemical properties in apple orchards in warm, temperate, semi-humid climate regions were greater than those in warm, temperate, arid climates and temperate, semi-humid climate regions. The response sensitivity of soil organic matter, organic carbon, urease, catalase, sucrose and cellulase to the living grass mulch effect of apple orchards was greater than that of other soil properties.