Abstract
The technology of freezing saline water irrigation (FSWI) with plastic mulching has been regarded as an effective way to reclaim the highly saline soil in coastal plains, which enabled the growth of crops in heavy saline soil that was not suitable for any crop growth before. However, after long-term treatment with FSWI, the microenvironment of the soil has been found to be affected by the growth of crops, which will directly influence the balance of soil carbon emissions. In this study, the characteristics of soil respiration in a typical saline field (planted with cotton) under four treatments (FSWI in Winter with plastic mulching, FSWI + Mulch; FSWI in Winter without plastic mulching, FSWI; plastic mulching in Spring without FSWI, mulch; no plastic mulching and no FSWI, CK) were investigated between June and November from 2015 to 2016. The results suggested that the soil surface temperature was an important factor that affected the soil respiration rate in each treatment during the growth period of cotton. FSWI + Mulch can reduce the soil surface salinity to 0.4% during the seedling stage, which increased the survival rate and the abundance of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes in the cotton field and subsequently increased soil respiration. By examining the effects of FWSI and mulching on soil respiration and its influencing factors, this study provides practical and theoretical insight into the sustainable development of agriculture in coastal saline plains.
Highlights
Coastal saline wastelands in the northeast of China extending from Jiangsu province to Liaoning province are potential land resources for agriculture and ecological landscape construction [1]
Developing and utilizing the local rich underground saline water combined with other measures such as plastic film mulching is a new trend in reclaiming saline-alkaline soils [5,6]
These findings showed that Freezing Saline Water Irrigation was the requisite treatment for increasing the abundance of fungi and actinomycetes to improve the soil quality, even with the higher initial costs corresponding to mulching in Spring without FSWI (Mulch) treatment
Summary
Coastal saline wastelands in the northeast of China extending from Jiangsu province to Liaoning province are potential land resources for agriculture and ecological landscape construction [1]. Wind erosion, cold damage, and high groundwater tables are limiting factors in these regions [2], and, as a result, a variety of traditional improvement measures such as washing salt with fresh water and new-soil technology cannot be widely implemented [3,4]. Developing and utilizing the local rich underground saline water combined with other measures such as plastic film mulching is a new trend in reclaiming saline-alkaline soils [5,6]. The combination of two techniques has significantly promoted crop growth and improved the crop yield. It was regarded by the local people as an effective way to improve the saline-alkali land [8]. Whether intensive human activity influences saline soil respiration needs to be investigated [9,10]
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