Effects of Water Level and Salinity on Total Sulfur Contents in Salt Marsh Soils of the Yellow River Delta, China

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted on three different water levels and four salinity levels to investigate the effects of water level and salinity on the total sulfur (TS) content of marsh soil in the Yellow River Delta of China. The total sulfur content of surface and subsurface soils from incubated soil cores were measured under different water and salinity levels on three sampling dates. Our results showed that a higher TS content appeared in surface soils under a 5 cm water level on different sampling dates, of which higher TS content was observed in August (916 mg/kg) and October (1,335 mg/kg) under a 16.7‰ salinity level. However, a higher TS level (1,167 mg/kg) was observed under a 0.52‰ salinity level in September. Meanwhile, a lower TS content appeared in subsurface soils under a 10 cm water level at a 10.2‰ salinity level. The interaction of the water level and salinity had a significant effect on both the TS content and the C/S ratio. The TS content was significantly correlated with soil organic matter. However, a significant correlation between the total sulfur and the C/N ratio was not observed.