Abstract

A field experiment was performed to examine the effectiveness of adding two kinds of organic materials (wheat Straw and cattle manure) on the soil aggregate stability along a gradient in salinity in the lower cheliff plain (western Algeria). The experiment was set up in a factorial design by complete randomized blocks with three replicates. The treatments were applied at a rate of 4 g C kg-1 soil. One year after organic amendments, mean weight diameter (MWD) was measured using the Le Bissonais method (1996). Other soil properties involved in saline soil aggregation were also measured, namely, electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), pH, cation exchangeable capacity (CEC), porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and hot water extractable polysaccharide (HWEP). The resultsdemonstrated a significant effect of organic inputs in improving aggregate stability; the effectiveness was related to the type of aggregate stability test that has been used, organic matter type and the level of soil salinity. The wheat straw proved to be more efficient in soil aggregation than cattle manure. Most of the considered soil properties were significantly influenced by organic inputs. Overall, correlation analysis revealed that enhanced microbial biomass was the most important factor in stabilizing soil aggregates (r = 0.72 with MWDMB and r = 0.64 with MWDFW). Therefore, MWD influences soil porosity (r = 0.67 with MWDMB and r = 0.56 with MWDFW), which in turn resulted in increased hydraulic conductivity (r = 0.77 with MWDMB and r = 0.87 with MWDFW).   Key words: Wheat straw, cattle manure, soil salinity, aggregate stability, soil properties.

Highlights

  • Stalinization is a process of soil degradation that is becoming a serious matter in the lower cheliff plain in the western of Algeria

  • Other soil properties involved in saline soil aggregation were measured, namely, electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), pH, cation exchangeable capacity (CEC), porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and hot water extractable polysaccharide (HWEP)

  • The results demonstrated a significant effect of organic inputs in improving aggregate stability; the effectiveness was related to the type of aggregate stability test that has been used, organic matter type and the level of soil salinity

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Summary

Introduction

Soluble salts and exchangeable sodium affect soil structure mainly by slaking aggregates and clay dispersion, which results in water logging and surface crust formation and leads to poor aeration and decline in water infiltration and drainage (Barzegar et al, 1997; Tejada and Gonzalez, 2005), this causes high runoff and soil erosion (Oster and Shainberg, 2001; Mandal et al, 2008). These conditions may further compromise the activity of microorganism and plant growing (Wong et al, 2008; Raj Setia and Marschner, 2013). Structural stability of aggregates depends on the interaction among other factors which might be intrinsic or extrinsic to soil, by which organic matter occupies a central position

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