Reducing soil evaporation by different agricultural practices is important not only for water saving but also for its applicability by farmers. In wheat fields, the goal of efficient water management is to save water and increase yield. At present, the combined effects of maize-straw mulching (M) and crop density (D) on soil evaporation and temperature, wheat performance, and water use efficiency (WUE) are not clear. A field experiment was conducted for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the North China Plain (NCP). The two levels of crop density included high (HD) and normal density (ND), and the three levels of mulch included high (HM), low (LM), and no mulch (NM). The results indicated that both straw mulching and high crop density had significant inhibitory effects on soil evaporation. Normal crop density with high mulch gave the lowest yield among all treatments because high mulching reduced the soil temperature and hindered the soil temperature increase in early spring. Compared with normal crop density with no mulch, the yield and WUE of winter wheat for high crop density with low mulch (HDLM) were enhanced by 20.6% and 21.9%, respectively. Compared with other treatments, HDLM gave the higher WUE due to the higher soil temperature, leaf area index, and biomass. Therefore, HDLM was an effective way to maximize the WUE of winter wheat in the NCP.
In this study, the authors designed and applied a new irrigation method called Capillary Wicking Irrigation (CWI), which used microfiber fabric as the source material of irrigation. At present, the effects of CWI on soil moisture, plant growth and surface temperature of a green roof with rain storage are not clear. An experiment was conducted on a green roof in Guangzhou. The authors set three transparent plexiglass containers (A, B and C) with a side length of 1.5 m as an experimental frame on the roof. The authors put ‘steering wheel’ microfiber CWI in containers A and C, which were planted with Sedum lineare Thunb and Fittonia verschaffeltii, respectively. Container B with no CWI was planted with Sedum lineare Thunb. Results indicated that CWI could increase soil water content and make the variation of soil water content gentle in the containers on the roof. The green roof with rain storage had the function of heat preservation in winter and cooling effect in summer, especially for the green roof with CWI. Compared with container B, container A gave better plant growth, for ‘steering wheel’ microfiber CWI can basically provide automatic and suitable water supply for the plant. Therefore, CWI is an effective infiltration irrigation technique for roof greening.
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