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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2021, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (6): 169-178.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2021.00100

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Effects of abandonment and recultivation of farmland on soil hydraulic properties in a typical oasis of arid regions

Feiyao Liu1,2(), Quangang You1(), Siyuan Wu3, Cuihua Huang1, Jing Pan1, Shaoxiu Ma1, Xiaojie Chen1,2, Xian Xue1   

  1. 1.Drylands Salinization Research Station / Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification,Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,China
    2.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
    3.Zhongqu Irrigation District Water Conservancy Station,Minqin County Water Affairs Bureau,Minqin 733306,Gansu,China
  • Received:2021-04-12 Revised:2021-08-09 Online:2021-11-20 Published:2021-12-17
  • Contact: Quangang You

Abstract:

Land use/cover changes would lead to the change of soil texture and structure, soil hydraulic properties and soil water availability, which would further impact the plant growth. As the fluctuation of dry and wet climate at regional scales and the variation of water utilization efficiency, the abandonment and rehabilitation of farmland were taken place widely on the edge of the oasis in the arid region. Here we focused on investigating the effects of abandonment and recultivation of farmland on soil hydraulic properties in the arid land, and taken the cultivated land, adjacent abandoned land, and re-cultivated land of the Northern margin of Minqin oasis as the research targets. The differences of soil hydraulic properties and their influencing factors in the root zone of three underlying surfaces were analyzed by measuring the soil physical and chemical properties at 0-40 cm depth. We found that the abandonment of cultivated land result in a number changes in soil properties such as the increase in the proportion of clay and silt in 0-40 cm depth, the decrease in soil organic matter contents, the decrease of bulk density significantly lower (P<0.05), the increase of soil porosity significantly (P<0.05), and the disappearance of plow layer. Meanwhile, there was an improvement of soil water holding capacity and water-conducting capacity in the high soil water potential stage, and a decrease of the soil water holding capacity and water-conducting capacity in the soil water potential stage corresponding to the available soil water content. The maximum available soil water content decreased significantly (P<0.05). In contrast, the rehabilitation of abandoned land led to the increase of clay and silt contents in 0-40 cm depth, the improvement of in soil organic matter content and the significant increase of bulk density (P<0.05), and also the decreasing of soil porosity (P<0.05). There was a recovery of the bottom layer of the plow, the soil water holding capacity and water-conducting capacity gradually, which was close to the perennial cultivated land level at different soil-water potential stages. This demonstrates that abandonment has no significant effect on the improvement of soil fertility and water storage capacity in the arid oasis, while conservation tillage measures such as stubble-remaining no-tillage, deep tillage, and stubble-destroying returning can effectively improve soil fertility and water holding capacity. The soil moisture constant can be predicted accurately and quickly by using easily measured soil physical properties, such as the soil clay and sand content and soil bulk density by the multiple linear regression method in the study area. It will be beneficial to the accurate formulation and optimization of farmland irrigation system in the study area, and the rapid evaluation of the influence of cultivated land utilization / change on soil hydraulic properties.

Key words: farmland abandonment, recultivation, soil hydraulic property, available soil moisture, soil pedotransfer functions

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