Response of soil infiltration and water to orchard mulching practices in the Loess Plateau, China

IF 5.7 1区农林科学 Q1 GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Catena Pub Date : 2025-02-20 DOI:10.1016/j.catena.2025.108848

Yang Liao , Lingbo Dong , Wenwen Lv , Jingwei Shi , Jianzhao Wu , Ao Li , Hailong Zhang , Ruihua Bai , Yulin Liu , Jiwei Li , Zhouping Shangguan , Lei Deng

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Abstract

Mulching practices, widely applied in arid and semi-arid areas, regulates terrestrial hydrological processes in agricultural soils. However, the mechanism by which mulching practices influence soil infiltration and water on the Loess Plateau remains unclear. Field experiments were conducted in October 2022 to investigate the variations in soil infiltration capacity and water storage under different mulching practices: straw mulching, rape intercropping mulching, and conventional tillage. Compared to conventional tillage, straw mulching showed faster infiltration rates both in topsoil and subsoil, whereas rape intercropping mulching had lower subsoil infiltration rates. Soil moisture replenishment was 25.4 % higher in the topsoil and 10.2 % higher in the subsoil under straw mulching. A porous soil structure, stable aggregates, abundant organic matter, and roots improved the infiltration capacity, whereas biocrusts impeded infiltration. Owing to the different traits of plough pan between treatments, subsoil had great effect (49.3 %) on topsoil infiltration changes. Straw mulching showed 18 % higher soil water storage (p < 0.05) at 0–100 cm depth, whereas rape intercropping mulching did not result in significant changes (p > 0.05). Both tillage frequency and understory biomass can indirectly affect soil infiltration and water storage by impacting the bulk density, porosity, aggregates, and organic matter. Understory biomass can also directly affect soil water storage by regulating rainfall distribution and reducing evaporation. These findings offer new insights into soil hydrological processes in agro-ecosystems of arid areas.

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黄土高原果园复盖对土壤入渗和水分的响应

覆盖措施广泛应用于干旱和半干旱地区，调节农业土壤的陆地水文过程。然而，覆盖对黄土高原土壤入渗和水分的影响机制尚不清楚。于2022年10月进行了田间试验，研究了秸秆覆盖、油菜间作覆盖和常规耕作方式对土壤入渗能力和储水量的影响。与常规耕作相比，秸秆覆盖的表土和底土入渗速率较快，而油菜间作覆盖的底土入渗速率较低。秸秆覆盖土壤水分补给量在表层土壤和底土分别提高25.4%和10.2%。多孔的土壤结构、稳定的团聚体、丰富的有机质和根系提高了入渗能力，而生物结皮则阻碍了入渗。由于不同处理间耕盘的特性不同，底土对表层土壤入渗变化的影响较大（49.3%）。秸秆覆盖土壤储水量增加18% (p <；0.05)，而油菜间作覆盖无显著变化(p >；0.05)。耕作频率和林下生物量都可以通过影响容重、孔隙度、团聚体和有机质间接影响土壤入渗和储水量。林下生物量还可以通过调节降雨分布和减少蒸发直接影响土壤水分储存。这些发现对干旱区农业生态系统土壤水文过程提供了新的认识。

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来源期刊

Catena 环境科学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

10.50

自引率

9.70%

发文量

816

审稿时长

54 days

期刊介绍： Catena publishes papers describing original field and laboratory investigations and reviews on geoecology and landscape evolution with emphasis on interdisciplinary aspects of soil science, hydrology and geomorphology. It aims to disseminate new knowledge and foster better understanding of the physical environment, of evolutionary sequences that have resulted in past and current landscapes, and of the natural processes that are likely to determine the fate of our terrestrial environment. Papers within any one of the above topics are welcome provided they are of sufficiently wide interest and relevance.