Abstract

Abstract. Organic materials (e.g., furfural residue) are generally believed to improve the physical and chemical properties of saline soils with low fertility. Recently, biochar has been received more attention as a possible measure to improve the carbon balance and improve soil quality in some degraded soils. However, little is known about their different amelioration of a sandy saline soil. In this study, 56 d incubation experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of furfural and its biochar on the properties of saline soil. The results showed that both furfural and biochar greatly reduced pH, increased soil organic carbon (SOC) content and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and enhanced the available phosphorus (P) in the soil. Furfural is more efficient than biochar in reducing pH: 5% furfural lowered the soil pH by 0.5–0.8 (soil pH: 8.3–8.6), while 5% biochar decreased by 0.25–0.4 due to the loss of acidity in pyrolysis process. With respect to available P, furfural addition at a rate of 5% increased available P content by 4–6 times in comparison to 2–5 times with biochar application. In reducing soil exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), biochar is slightly superior to furfural because soil ESP reduced by 51% and 43% with 5% furfural and 5% biochar at the end of incubation. In addition, no significant differences were observed between furfural and biochar about their capacity to retain N, P in leaching solution and to increase CEC in soil. These facts may be caused by the relatively short incubation time. In general, furfural and biochar exhibited a different effect depending on the property: furfural was more effective in decreasing pH and increasing available P, whereas biochar played a more important role in increasing SOC and reducing ESP of saline soil.

Highlights

  • A large saline soil reserve has been explored in the Yellow River delta

  • Seasonal accumulation of salt in the surface soil caused by high soil salinity and water shortage restricts the germination of plants, while poor physical and chemical properties of soil are the major obstacles of plant growth

  • Based on the indoor constant temperature incubation and leaching test, this paper evaluated the effect of furfural in improving saline soil according to the variation trend of acid-base property, water-soluble salt, basic nutrients in soil and cation exchange performance, aiming to provide theoretical basis for the application of furfural and biochar in saline soil improvement

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Summary

Introduction

A large saline soil reserve has been explored in the Yellow River delta. Seasonal accumulation of salt in the surface soil caused by high soil salinity and water shortage restricts the germination of plants, while poor physical and chemical properties of soil are the major obstacles of plant growth. The low productivity of soil and soil environment deterioration in the Yellow River delta further aggravate the soil salinity (Bai et al, 2005; Wang et al, 2010), restricting the growth of crops. Amendment with organic materials can improve the soil salinity and increase crop yield significantly (Luo et al, 2008). As a kind of inexpensive acid organic substance with rich resources, furfural is effective in improving the saline soil. Based on the indoor constant temperature incubation and leaching test, this paper evaluated the effect of furfural in improving saline soil according to the variation trend of acid-base property, water-soluble salt, basic nutrients in soil and cation exchange performance, aiming to provide theoretical basis for the application of furfural and biochar in saline soil improvement

Materials
Incubation method
Measuring method
Data analysis
Impact of furfural and biochar on the physicochemical properties of soil
Full Text
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