The influences of different N fertilization rates and soil salinity levels on the growth and nitrogen uptake of cotton was evaluated with a pot experiment under greenhouse conditions. Results showed that cotton growth measured as plant height was significantly affected by the soil salinity and Nsalinity interaction, but not by N alone. Cotton was more sensitive to salinity during the emergence and early growth stages than the later developmental stages. At low to moderate soil salinity, the growth inhibition could be alleviated by fertilizer application. Soil salinity was a dominated factor affecting cotton's above-ground dry mass and root development. Dry mass of seed was reduced by 22%, 52%, and 84% respectively, when the soil salinity level increased from control level of 2.4 dS m −1 to 7.7 dS m −1 , 12.5 dS m −1 and to 17.1 dS m −1 , respectively. N uptake increased with N fertilization at adequate rates at both low and medium soil salinities but was not influenced by over N fertilization. At higher salinities, N uptake was independent of N rates and mainly influenced by soil salinity. The uptake of K decreased with soil salinity. The concentration of Na, Cl and Ca in plant tissues increased with soil salinity with highest concentrations in the cotton leaf.

The objectives of this study were to explore the effects of long-term and continued application of fertilizers and manures on microbial biomass, soil biological activity and their seasonal variations in surface and subsurface soils in relation to soil fertility.

Background, aim, and scope Terbuthylazine is one of the most commonly used herbicides for vegetation management in forest plantations in New Zealand. Knowledge about the sorption of terbuthylazine on forest soils, especially the influence of coexisting organic amendments, remains obscure. In this study, we evaluated the effects of biosolids and biochars on the sorption of terbuthylazine to forest soils. Materials and methods Two pumice soils, including a forest landing site soil with low soil organic matter content and an organic carbon rich topsoil under standard forest management, were sampled from a 2-year-old replanted pine plantation. The soils were mixed with four organic amendments, including two thermally dried biosolids with one digested and the other undigested, a biochar produced from high temperature pyrolysis (700°C), and a biochar from pyrolysis with a lower temperature (approximately 350°C). A batch equilibration method was used to determine terbuthylazine adsorption-desorption in organic amendment-treated and untreated soils. Adsorption and desorption isotherms were described with the Freundlich equation.Results and discussion Adsorption and desorption isotherms in the soils with or without organic amendments were well described by the Freundlich model. The undigested or digested biosolids added to the topsoil had a negligible or limited effect on the adsorption to terbuthylazine. The addition of the other amendments to the two soils all enhanced the adsorption. The biochars displayed higher efficiency in improving soils' adsorption capacity to terbuthylazine than the biosolids. Among the organic amendments evaluated, the biochar obtained from high temperature pyrolysis demonstrated the most significant enhancement on adsorption with an enhancing factor of 63; whereas, the digested biosolids showed the weakest enhancement. Furthermore, terbuthylazine adsorbed by the digested biosolids appeared to be more easily desorbed than that by biochar treatments. Conclusions This work indicates that the addition of organic amendments to forest soils, particularly biochar to a soil with low native organic matter, may enhance soil sorption of terbuthylazine and thus reduce the possibility of the hydrophobic herbicide leaching to groundwater.

a b s t r a c tIn arid and semi-arid regions, salinity is a serious and chronic problem for agriculture. A 3-year field experiment in the arid environment of Xinjiang, northwest China, was conducted to study the salinity change in soil resulting from deficit irrigation of cotton with non-saline, moderate saline and high saline water. The salinity profile distribution was also evaluated by an integrated water, salinity, and nitrogen model, ENVIRO-GRO. The simulated and observed salinity distributions matched well. Results indicated that after 3 years of cotton production, the average salinity in the 1.0-m soil profile was 336% and 547% of the original soil profile, respectively, for moderate saline and high saline water irrigation. If the practices continued, the average soil salinity (EC e ) in the 1.0-m soil profile would approach a steady level of 1.7, 10.8, and 14.7 dS m −1 , respectively, for the treatments receiving irrigation waters of 0.33, 3.62, and 6.71 dS m −1 . It was concluded that deficit irrigation of saline water in this region was not sustainable. Model simulation showed that a big flood irrigation after harvest can significantly reduce the salt accumulation in the soil profile, and that this practice was much more efficient for salinity control than applying the same extra amount of water during the growing season.