Impacts of application patterns and incorporation rates of dredged Yellow River sediment on structure and infiltration of saline-alkali soil

Abstract

Soil salinization is an issue of global concern. Despite recent evidence indicates that application of sediments into saline-alkali soil in Yellow River Delta as an additive can increase crop yield, its effects on soil structure and infiltration remain uncertain. In this study, the comprehensively analyses were conducted on the soil infiltration and microstructure of the soil treated with three sediment application layers (surface layer at 0-15 cm, lower layer at 15-30 cm, and plough layer at 0-30 cm) and four sediment incorporation rates (0, 2%, 5% and 10%), using soil column simulation experiment. Results indicated that the dredged Yellow River sediments can improve the infiltration capacity of saline-alkali soil; and the infiltration capacity increased with the rising sediment incorporation rate under the given application pattern. Compared with the control, applying dredged Yellow River sediments at 10% rate at lower layer and plough layer significantly facilitated the soil infiltration of the saline-alkali soil. Soil macro-porosity for T2, T5 and T10 was 26%, 52% and 158% more than that for the control, respectively. This phenomenon was attributed to the increased soil macro-porosity, due to the improved soil microstructure with the incorporation of sediment into the saline-alkali soil. Moreover, the cumulative infiltration was fitted better with Kostiakov infiltration model than Horton and Philip models.

Amendments of Severe Saline-Sodic Paddy Land: Optimal Combination of Phosphogypsum, Farmyard Fertilizer, and Wood Peat

“…Studies show that applying P can significantly increase rice yield, panicle weight, number of total filled grains, total grain weight, and seed setting rate [17,51]. Additionally, applying F in saline-alkali soil can significantly increase crop yield [21,[26][27][28]43,52]. Finally, W application can improve crop yield and its constituent factors [53], especially in saline-alkali soil [29].…”

“…Moreover, the application of farmyard fertilizer (F) can improve a variety of soil physiochemical and biological characteristics [21][22][23][24][25]. Regarding rice production, this strategy can significantly up-regulate a variety of growth-linked genes [26], enhance leakage [27], and thus increase crop yield [28]. Additionally, wood peat (W) can be used to optimize saline-alkali soil for agriculture [29].…”

Analysis of the Effect of Modified Biochar on Saline–Alkali Soil Remediation and Crop Growth

“…A vacuum freeze dryer was used to dry the filtered sediment, and the freeze drying time was 24 h. The sediment was removed and ground and sifted with a 60-mesh sieve. The prepared magnetic biochar was put into a sealed bag and then put in a drying dish for standby [21,22].…”

Interactions between flue gas desulfurization gypsum and biochar on water infiltration characteristics and physicochemical properties of saline-alkaline soil

“…However, the new farmlands developed on the reclaimed coastal tidal flats experience deterioration in soil physical characteristics, such as high bulk density, low hydraulic conductivity, loss of soil nutrients, inhibition of seed germination, and decline in crop yields (Ganjegunte et al, 2014 ; Li et al, 2021b ; Luo et al, 2017 ; Mao et al, 2016 ). Several strategies have been implemented to improve the nutrient content and agricultural yield of saline-alkaline soil, for example, irrigation (Heng et al, 2018 ), tillage methods (Strudley et al, 2008 ; Singh et al, 2016 ), the addition of sediments (Li et al, 2022 ; Mao et al, 2016 , 2018 ), incorporation of plant residues (Li et al, 2017 ; Zhu et al, 2021 ), chemical remediation (Ahmad et al, 2013 ; Gharaibeh et al, 2010 ; Kharel et al, 2018 ; Xiao et al, 2022 ), organic amendments (Rezapour et al, 2022 ; Yang et al, 2018 ), and plantation of salt-resistant species (Li et al, 2019 ).…”