Properties of saline-alkaline soil under different land use types in Yellow River Delta

Abstract

In order to allviate saline-alkaline property of soils for sustainable soil utilization, the properties of soils under the four land use types of wasteland, cotton land, clover land and pear orchard were analyzed. The analysis reveals the following: 1) In cotton lands, there is increasing soil bulk density, decreasing soil porosity and capillarity porosity, and rising water tables driven by the mode of irrigation which induces heavy salt return to soil surface. 2) In clover lands, there is decreasing soil organic matter and other nutrients, and soil physical properties are better with lower salinity due to less human disturbance. On other hand, azotobacter of legume increases the available nitrogen content in surface soil. 3) In pear orchards which are usually planted in areas with better soil quality, soil physical properties are better and salinity is lower than those in cotton lands, driven by the application of organic fertilizer such as animal manure. 4) In waster lands, soil properties are better than in cotton land, land recovering from degenerating cotton lands is feasible.