Effects of Straw Returning on Soil Aggregate and Seasonal Variation in Soil Erodibility for Agricultural Area in the Northern of the Middle of Qinling Mountains
A typical agricultural small soil in the mid-northern foothills of the Qinling mountains-Guanzhong region of Shaanxi province was selected with wheat,soybean and maize straw additions and no straw addition as a control.Samples were collected 11 times over 375 days to investigate the effects of straw addition on seasonal changes in agglomerate properties and erodibility.The results showed that:(1)The soil organic matter showed obvious seasonal changes,with the extension of the time of straw mixing,the soil organic matter content showed an upward trend;compared with the pre-mixing,the organic matter content of the treatments with wheat,soybean and maize straw added at the end of the experiment increased by 19.56%,18.28%and 18.61%,respectively.(2)Straw incorporation decreased the proportion of agglomerates smaller than 1 mm and increased the proportion of agglomerates larger than 1 mm;compared to the pre-mixing period,the MWD of the three treatments with wheat,soybean and maize stover at the end of the experiment increased by 67.31%,68.53%and 56.98%,respectively,and the GWD increased by 45.77%,35.00%and 40.25%,respectively.(3)The soil erodibility values of the straw-mixed sample plots were significantly reduced compared to the bare soil,and the mean soil erodibility values of the wheat,soybean and maize straw-mixed treatments were reduced by 28.92%,23.33%and 26.40%,respectively.The results of demonstrated the effects of straw mixing on the seasonal changes of soil aggregate properties and soil erodibility,which is of great practical value for agricultural production practice in the soil erosion zone of the north-south transition zone in China.
straw returning to fieldsoil aggregatesoil erodibilityan average weight diameter(MWD)